LIBRARY 

OF  CAUFORMW 
DAVIS 


SOUVENIRS  OF  A  DIPLOMAT 


Private  Letters  from  America  during  the  Administrations  of 
Presidents  VAN  BUREN,  HARRISON,  and  TYLER 


BY 

THE  CHEVALIER  DE  BACOURT 

i 

Minister  Jrom  France 

WITH    A     MEMOIR     OF     THE    AUTHOR 
BY  THE  COMTESSE  DE    MIRABEAU 


from 


Vv  [  1  ii;Ur-L\  WN 


:D 


e     NEW  YORK 
HENRY  HOLT  AND  COMPANY 

1885 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CAUFORNtS 


COPYRIGHT,  1885, 

BY 
HENRY  HOLT  &  CO. 

28802 


M.  DE  BACOURT. 


I  FOUND  these  letters  on  America  amongst 
the  papers  of  my  uncle,  M.  de  Bacourt. 

When  he  was  Minister-Plenipotentiary  at 
Washington  every  packet-boat  leaving  for 
France  brought  accounts  and  criticisms  of 
what  he  saw  and  heard  day  by  day.  Later, 
these  letters,  preserved  with  care,  were  re 
turned  to  him.  They  describe  the  United 
States  so  well,  such  as  it  was  forty  years  ago, 
that  I  have  thought  it  my  duty  to  publish 
them. 

What  struck  me  particularly  in  copying 
them  was,  that  a  republican  form  of  govern 
ment  was  far  from  offering  a  satisfactory  result, 
even  in  that  country,  which  had  never  to  con 
tend  against  any  remembrance  of  monarchy, 
or  against  any  party  or  opposition.  This  na 
tion,  newly  born,  free  from  all  oppression 


2  M.   DE  B 'A COURT. 

and  servitude,  rich  and  independent,  seemed 
gloomy  and  discontented,  inspiring  one  with 
painful  feelings.  While  following  with  curi 
osity  these  people,  who  are  forming  an'd  organ 
izing  themselves,  one  feels  ill  at  ease  in  this 
vast  and  beautiful  country,  where  the  only  pas 
sions — very  contradictory  ones — are  the  love 
of  money  and  the  love  of  liberty. 

There  is  nothing  to  sympathize  with,  noth 
ing  to  inspire  confidence,  nothing  to  admire. 
One  sees  the  representatives  of  the  nation  in 
sulting  each  other  and  fighting  with  fists  and 
knives  in  the  streets  and  other  public  places — 
even  in  the  halls  of  Congress ;  the  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs  gets  drunk  at  a  dinner  given 
by  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  the 
Diplomatic  Corps.  Their  manners  are  entirely 
without  refinement,  and  with  no  rules  to  gov 
ern  them. 

I  think  it  right  to  mention  here  the  personal 
history  of  the  writer  of  these  letters,  whose 
memory  is  by  a  singular  chance  connected  with 
two  great  historic  characters — "  Mirabeau  and 
Talleyrand." 

Born  in  1801,  he  entered  diplomatic  life  in 
1822.  He  was  Ambassador  at  Turin  when  he 


M.   DE  BACOURT.  3 

sent,  the  day  before  the  revolution  of  Feb 
ruary,  his  resignation  to  M.  de  Lamartine. 
He  did  not  ally  himself  to  any  government. 
Some  he  thought  too  near  anarchy,  and  others 
too  despotic.  His  early  retirement  was  for 
him  a  great  sacrifice,  for  he  took  a  deep  and 
constant  interest  in  public  affairs ;  but  he 
would  not  trifle  either  with  his  convictions  or 
with  his  political  beliefs. 

At  the  commencement  of  his  career  he  had 
known  at  the  Hague  the  Count  de  la  Marck, 
Prince  of  Arenberg,  to  whom  Mirabeau  wrote 
on  July  17,  1790: 

"  Here,  my  dear  Count,  are  two  packets,  that 
you  will  give  up  only  to  me  whatever  happens, 
and  in  case  of  my  death  you  will  confide  to 
one  who  will  take  enough  interest  in  my  mem 
ory  to  defend  it." 

The  Count  de  la  Marck  replied : 

"  The  most  anxious  desire  to  serve  you  will 
teach  me  to  choose  those  who  will  be  most 
worthy  to  serve  you." 

Forty  years  later  he  confided  the  defence 
"  of  the  great  tribune"  to  M.  de  Bacourt,  who 
during  his  active  and  wandering  career  could 
not  attend  to  it,  and  it  was  not  until  1851  that 


4  M.   DE  B A  COURT. 

the  " Correspondence  of  Mirabeau"  appeared; 
in  1848  I  had  married  the  grand-nephew  of  Mir 
abeau,  without  my  uncle,  who  always  treated 
me  as  an  adopted  daughter,  having  in  any  way 
aided  this  marriage ;  but  this  singular  coinci 
dence  caused  him  to  take  more  to  heart  the 
commission  confided  to  him. 

The  "  Correspondence  of  Mirabeau'*  estab 
lished  clearly  and  precisely  his  sentiments  and 
convictions.  This  man,  who  had  committed 
only  faults  and  was  treated  as  a  criminal,  had 
dearly  bought  the  right  to  combat  those  arbi 
trary  laws  of  which  he  was  the  victim.  He 
wished  to  put  some  bounds  to  the  power  with 
out  limit  and  without  control  which  had  caused 
him  to  pass  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in  the 
States'  prison.  Later,  it  is  true,  he  tried  to 
modify  the  Revolution  and  to  establish  the 
government  on  a  constitutional  basis,  but  he 
did  not  sell  himself  as  he  was  accused  of  doing, 
since  in  trying  to  save  the  expiring  monarchy 
he  only  obeyed  his  own  convictions.  He  had 
made  '89,  but  would  have  nothing  to  do  with 

'93. 

Pursued  by  his  creditors,  obliged  to  write 
day  by  day  books  and  pamphlets  to  obtain 


M.   DE  BACOURT.  5 

money  to  satisfy  their  demands,  forced  to  fly 
from  them,  miserably  shackled,  he  had  neither 
liberty  of  mind  nor  time ;  and  it  was  under 
these  circumstances  and  to  enter  in  full  pos 
session  of  his  genius  that  he  accepted  from  the 
court  the  payment  of  his  debts. 

In  allowing  himself  to  be  relieved  of  the 
chains  which  weighed  on  his  life  he  most  cer 
tainly  thought  neither  of  making  his  fortune 
nor  even  of  setting  a  price  on  his  eloquence ; 
and  a  letter  addressed  to  Mademoiselle  de 
Nehra  proves  conclusively  his  indifference  to 
his  personal  interests,  for  in  the  midst  of  the 
most  cruel  pecuniary  difficulties  he  answers 
his  mistress  who  asks  him  about  one  of  his 
lawsuits: 

"  I  have  other  things  to  do  than  to  think  of 
all  these  trifles.  Do  you  know  the  situation 
we  are  in  ?  Do  you  know  that  speculation  is 
at  its  height?  Do  you  know  that  soon  there 
will  be  not  one  cent  in  the  public  treasury?" 

And  when  he  wrote  that,  his  own  purse  did 
not  contain  a  farthing !  This  cry  of  distress  is 
the  unanswerable  proof  that  Mirabeau  had  a 
passionate  love  for  his  country  and  a  thorough 
contempt  for  money. 


6  M.    DE  B A  COURT. 

Immediately  after  the  publication  of  the  let 
ters  of  Mirabeau,  M.  de  Bacourt  was  busy  with 
the  memoirs  of  Talleyrand.  He  had  been 
sent  in  1830  on  a  mission  to  the  illustrious 
diplomat,  who  then  represented  France  in 
England.  Scarcely  had  M.  de  Talleyrand  seen 
him  than  he  asked  to  be  allowed  to  keep  him, 
and  immediately  promoted  him  to  the  rank  of 
first  secretary  of  the  embassy.  The  prince 
had  still  great  skill  in  affairs,  a  quickness  of 
judgment,  and  that  persevering  will  before 
which  so  many  powers  had  yielded,  but  his 
age  would  not  allow  him  to  give  much  time  to 
work.  His  young  secretary,  who  could  under 
stand  his  views  from  a  single  word,  became  a 
necessary  adjunct.  Many  chiefs  would  not 
have  been  willing  to  acknowledge  this,  but  M. 
de  Talleyrand  said  so  openly  to  King  Louis- 
Philippe  in  recommending  my  uncle  to  him, 
and  during  an  absence  of  four  months  that 
he  was  obliged  to  make  on  account  of  his 
health,  he  intrusted  to  this  diplomat,  then 
only  twenty-eight  years  of  age,  the  absolute 
direction  of  affairs  which  were  being  treated 
at  London,  and  which  at  this  time  were  the 
most  important  in  Europe. 


M.    DE  B  A  COURT.  7 

Some  years  later,  when  the  Prince,  who  had 
been  for  a  long  time  in  retirement  at  Paris,  felt 
his  end  drawing  near,  he  .called  to  him  M.  de 
Bacourt,  who  shared  with  his  family  the  care 
of  reconciling  him  to  the  Church  :  every  one 
worked  with  heart  and  soul  to  accomplish  this 
object,  and  he  who  had  for  half  a  century  led 
Europe,  threw,  for  perhaps  the  first  time,  a 
look  beyond  the  boundaries  of  this  world;  at 
this  moment,  a  child  beautiful  as  the  day, 
clothed  in  white  and  covered  with  a  long 
veil,  knelt  at  his  feet  and  asked  his  blessing. 
It  was  the  daughter  of  Baron  Talleyrand, — 
Madame  Stanley, — who  was  going  to  make 
her  first  communion.  The  Bishop  of  Autun, 
profoundly  moved,  blessed  her.  In  a  few 
minutes  he  was  converted  ! 

Although  his  love  for  dynastic  government 
had  fallen  off,  M.  de  Talleyrand  strove  always 
and  above  everything  to  keep  or  to  give  to  his 
country  its  force  and  its  splendor.  He  knew 
under  all  circumstances  how  to  serve  France 
usefully  and  powerfully,  and  when  she  was 
invaded  by  Europe,  it  was  a  wonderful  success 
on  his  part,  at  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  to 
have  retained  her  frontiers  intact.  This  great 


8  M.    DE  B  A  COURT. 

and  clever  diplomat  deserved  truly  to  be 
called  "  The  Liberator  of  the  Country." 

By  his  will,  dated  January  10,  1834,  M.  de 
Talleyrand  had  appointed  his  niece  the  Duchess 
de  Dino  residuary  legatee  and  executrix  of  his 
will,  enjoining  her  in  the  most  formal  manner 
not  to  publish  his  memoirs  until  thirty  years 
after  his  death.  By  two  codicils,  dated  May 
13,  1837,  and  March  17,  1838,  the  Prince  ap 
pointed  M.  de  Bacourt  to  replace  the  Duchess 
de  Dino  in  case  she  had  not  survived  after  the 
delay  of  thirty  years,  and  he  bequeathed  to 
his  two  executors  the  right  to  postpone  the 
publication  of  the  memoirs  if  they  judged  it 
necessary. 

M.  de  Talleyrand  died  May  18,  1838,  and 
the  Duchess  de  Dino,  become  Duchess  Talley 
rand  and  Sagan,  September  19,  1862  ;  but  a 
long  time  before  her  death  she  had  placed  in 
my  uncle's  hands  all  the  Prince's  papers. 

It  was  considerable  work  to  arrange  in  their 
proper  order  the  different  parts  of  these 
memoirs,  for  M.  de  Talleyrand,  whenever  an 
important  event  occurred,  put  it  in  writing 
and  tossed  it  amongst  other  notes. 

M.    de    Bacourt    wishing   to    support    these 


M.    DE  B  A  COURT.  9 

memoirs  of  the  Prince  by  authentic  docu 
ments,  travelled  through  Europe  many  times 
for  the  purpose  of  searching  the  archives  in 
the  legations  for  proofs  not  necessary  for  his 
own  satisfaction,  but  for  history,  and,  having 
a  presentiment  that  his  end  was  near,  he 
worked  during  the  latter  part  of  his  life  as 
much  as  ten  hours  a  day  that  he  might  not 
leave  his  task  unfinished. 

My  mother,  residuary  legatee  and  executrix 
of  my  uncle's  will,  was  charged  by  him  to 
place  the  Memoirs  of  Prince  Talleyrand  with 
Messrs.  Chatelain  and  Paul  Andral,  who  have 
had  them  now  seventeen  years.  The  article 
in  the  will  of  my  uncle  relating  to  this  trust 
ends  thus:  "I  impose  as  an  express  condition 
on  Messrs.  Chatelain  and  Andral  that  no  publi 
cation  shall  be  made  of  these  papers  before 
the  year  1888  ;"  thus  adding  a  term  of  twenty 
years  to  the  thirty  fixed  by  Prince  Talleyrand. 

A  sum  of  ten  thousand  francs  was  also 
bequeathed  by  M.  de  Bacourt  to  Messrs. 
Chatelain  and  Andral  to  indemnify  them  for 
keeping  and  publishing  the  memoirs  of  M.  de 
Talleyrand. 

It  is  evident  from  this  explanation  that  the 


10  M.   DE  B  A  COURT. 

holders  of  these  memoirs  have  not  the  right  to 
publish  a  single  line  before  the  year  1888,  and 
consequently  the  rumors  announcing  their 
publication  before  that  time  can  have  no 
foundation. 

It  is  not  for  me  to  explain  at  this  day  the 
motives  which  induced  my  uncle  to  impose 
this  long  delay,  but  it  is  certain  that  in  doing 
so  he  sacrificed  his  own  interests,  for  the  pub 
lication  made  during  his  life  or  soon  after 
his  death  would  have  attached  a  great  im 
portance  to  his  name. 

During  the  years  he  passed  in  retirement,  as 
I  have  said,  he  was  busy  with  these  various 
works,  which  obliged  him  to  make  many  and 
long  journeys ;  besides  which,  his  friendship 
with  illustrious  persons  often  called  him 
abroad. 

From  1835  to  1840  he  had  been  Minister  of 
France  to  Carlsruhe ;  the  Grand  Duke  was 
very  much  attached  to  him,  and  he  was  also 
particularly  well  received  by  the  Grand 
Duchess  Dowager  Stephanie,  aunt  of  Napo 
leon  III.,  who  at  that  time  was  obliged  to 
remain  in  Carlsruhe  under  the  surveillance  of 
the  Minister  of  France,  and  from  time  to  time 


M.   DE  BACOURT.  II 

to  show  herself  at  the  Legation.  No  one  fore 
saw  at  that  time  that  the  Prince  who  lived  in 
this  painful  dependence  would  one  day  ascend 
the  throne  that  he  had  endeavored  to  destroy 
by  his  conspiracies,  which  were  called  by  every 
one  "acts  of  a  madman."  The  boat  which 
carried  "  Caesar  and  his  fortunes"  seemed  then 
a  long  way  from  shore. 

While  still  retaining  his  relations  with  the 
Court  of  Baden,  M.  de  Bacourt  went  often  to 
visit  the  Grand  Duchess  Stephanie  at  Coblentz, 
and  was  there  when  her  grand  daughter,  the 
Princess  Caroline  Wasa,  refused  to  become  the 
Empress  of  the  French.  It  was  nevertheless 
the  dream  of  the  Grand  Duchess,  and  the 
earnest  wish  of  Napoleon  III.,  who  had  an  in 
terview  with  the  little  Princess  at  Baden  ;  but 
she  thought  her  cousin  "  too  old  " ! 

She  was  then  eighteen  years  of  age  and  the 
Emperor  forty-four.  Then,  she,  descended 
from  the  kings  of  Sweden,  who  were  dispos 
sessed  by  Napoleon  I.,  would  not  marry  a  Bona 
parte.  An  Imperial  throne  seemed  neverthe 
less  a  great  position  for  an  exiled  princess  ;  but 
not  allowing  herself  to  be  dazzled  or  influenced, 
she  resisted  all  entreaties  with  great  energy. 


12  M.    DE  B  A  COURT, 

One  year  after,  she  married  the  Prince  of 
Saxony,  and  is  at  this  day  queen  of  that  little 
kingdom. 

The  Grand-duchess  Stephanie  had  in  1849 
presented  M.  de  Bacourt  to  the  Prince  and 
Princess  of  Prussia,  who  lived  in  the  chateau 
de  Coblentz  a  great  part  of  the  year.  He,  who 
was  to  become  later  a  very  powerful  monarch, 
lived  at  this  time  removed  from  politics,  often 
indeed  from  the  court,  and  so  long  as  his 
brother  could  reign,  contented  himself  with 
being  the  first  subject  of  the  king.  My  uncle, 
admitted  during  fifteen  years  to  the  intimacy 
of  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  saw  a  great  deal 
of  the  Prince  Hereditary,  and  his  charming 
sister,  the  Duchess  of  Baden  ;  he  had  a  deep 
attachment  for  the  House  of  Prussia,  and  if 
anything  could  console  us  for  his  premature 
loss,  it  would  be  to  think  that  the  pain  of  wit 
nessing  the  war  of  1870  had  been  spared  him. 

I  hope  that  these  letters  on  America  may 
recall  the  remembrance  of  M.  de  Bacourt  to 
his  friends:  he  wrote  them  without  a  thought 
of  their  ever  being  published.  In  re-writing 
them  I  seem  to  hear  him  talk  and  to  see  him 
again  amongst  us ;  for  every  page  shows  the 


M.    DE  B  A  COURT.  13 

natural  originality  which  made  the  most  trif 
ling  anecdote  amusing.  His  intellect  was  of 
a  superior  order ;  he  had  the  gift  of  repartee,  a 
great  facility  for  work,  a  sound  judgment  from 
which  nothing  could  move  him,  and  a  penetra 
tion  quick  and  sure  which  in  the  diplomatic 
career  assures  success  :  these  qualities  enabled 
him  to  foresee  events  both  in  things  concerning 
his  private  life  and  in  political  questions  re 
lating  to  France  and  foreign  countries.  It  is 
to  be  remarked  in  this  correspondence  from 
1840  to  1842  that  he  foresaw  fifteen  years  be 
forehand  the  bloody  drama  that  would  divide 
the  North  and  the  South  into  two  fields,  where 
their  hatreds  and  rivalries  would  cause  them 
to  forget  the  common  interests  of  their  coun 
try. 

Of  an  agreeable  appearance  in  his  youth,  he 
always  retained  an  exceptional  elegance  ;  dis 
tinguished,  simple,  and  natural,  he  not  only 
knew  how  to  please,  but  he  knew  also  how  to 
make  himself  loved  ;  while  keeping  himself  in 
the  background  with  extreme  reserve,  he  never 
passed  unobserved,  and  before  being  "  some 
thing"  he  was  "  some  one." 

He  had  the  talent  of  raising  himself  without 


14  M.    DE  B A  COURT. 

exciting  any  feeling  of  enmity  :  this  has  often 
been  said  to  his  credit.  He  was  generous  and 
devoted,  but  never  gave  his  support  to  anyone 
who  did  not  merit  his  esteem.  Above  all,  he 
was  honest  and  firm  ;  and  Prince  Talleyrand 
wrote  to  King  Louis-Philippe,  "  I  know  few 
people  whose  mind  can  be  compared  to  that 
of  M.  de  Bacourt,  and  I  never  have  known  any 
one  more  honest." 

One  word  only,  strikingly  just,  said  pleas 
antly  by  him,  would  often  take  the  place  of 
advice,  and  better  attain  the  end  sought. 
Here,  where  I  write  these  lines,  about  thirty- 
five  years  ago  I  entered  his  room  by  climb 
ing  a  window  of  the  ground-floor,  and  said  to 
him,  probably  with  a  pert  manner,  "  Will  you 
come  and  walk  with  me,  uncle  ?"  He  replied, 
"  Willingly,  nephew." 

He  always  had  a  great  affection  for  my 
mother,  and  my  father  before  becoming  his 
brother-in-law  was  his  most  intimate  and  re 
spected  friend.  We  lived  together  when  he 
was  not  abroad,  and  I  could  appreciate  during 
all  my  life  the  great  value  of  his  character,  his 
intelligence,  and  his  heart.  Something  would 
be  wanting  to  this  portrait  if  I  neglected  to 


M.   DE  BACOURT.  1 5 

say  that  his  beliefs  were  always  firm,  and  his 
death  admirably  Christian. 

I  feel  sure  that  no  one  who  has  known  him 
will  think  these  eulogies  exaggerated :  they 
have  been  inspired  by  his  memory,  and  the 
filial  love  I  have  always  had  for  him. 

COUNTESS  MIRABEAU. 

COSSESSEVILLE,  June  i,  1882. 


SOUVENIRS  OF  A  DIPLOMAT. 


I. 

LONDON,  May  24,  1840. 

I  HAVE  been  to  see  M.  Guizot.  I  found 
this  little  ambassador  comfortably  installed  in 
his  magnificent  house,  content  with  his  posi 
tion,  with  the  progress  of  affairs,  with  all  the 
world,  with  everything,  but  complaining  of  a 
feeling  of  loneliness  in  this  great  turmoil  of 
London.  I  hear  that  he  has  some  success  as 
a  wit,  but  that  no  one  cares  to  be  intimate 
with  him.  He  goes  most  frequently  to  Hol 
land  House  and  to  Mrs.  Stanley's,  wife  of  Ed 
ward  Stanley,  who  is  somewhat  of  a  radical.  It 
was  thought  in  very  bad  taste  on  his  part  that 
he  should  have  asked  Mrs.  Stanley  to  invite 
O'Connell  to  meet  him  at  dinner. 

London  is  much  more  lively  than  it  was 
five  years  ago.  The  shops  are  more  brilliant ; 


1 3         RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

there  is  a  luxurious  display,  a  magnificence, 
which  throw  in  the  shade  all  that  Paris  can 
offer,  though  the  luxe  there  is  very  great !  .  .  . 
I  should  be  tempted  to  believe  with  M.  Gulzot 
that  a  country  where  every  kind  of  industry  is 
developed  to  such  a  degree  is  in  no  danger 
of  a  revolution,  if  other  signs  did  not  excite 
my  uneasiness.  It  is  like  in  France,  where  a 
bad  crop  will  compromise  the  existence  of  a 
Government. 

Besides,  here  there  is  an  ill-feeling  towards 
the  Queen,  the  Government  is  without  moral 
force,  the  Ministry  in  a  minority  in  Parliament 
at  least  once  a  month;  radicalism  makes  slow 
but  sure  progress,  and  the  aristocracy  loses 
every  day  some  of  its  influence  in  favor  of  the 
middle  class,  which  is  ambitious  and  agitated. 
England  is  also  somewhat  seriously  embar 
rassed  in  her  relations  with  Portugal,  Spain, 
Naples,  Egypt,  Greece,  and  the  United  States. 

Her  foreign  policy  is  directed  by  a  man  who 
has  ability,  but  vacillating,  always  throwing 
himself  into  new  difficulties  before  getting  out 
of  those  brought  on  by  his  own  imprudent 
levity.  His  colleagues  feel  this,  know  it,  but 
to  remedy  it  one  of  them  would  have  to  take 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT.         1 9 

the  direction  of  foreign  affairs,  and  they  are 
either  too  indolent  or  too  incapable  to  do  so. 
Now  you  have  my  idea  of  the  state  of  this 
country  since  my  arrival;  I  bound  myself  to 
give  you  my  impressions,  false  or  true,  at  the 
risk  of  having  to  retract  if  anything  should 
alter  them  later. 

I  dined  with  Lady  Burghersh  at  the  house 
of  the  poor  little  Countess  Bathyani.  The 
talk  was  almost  entirely  of  the  small  scandals 
of  London  society,  and  particularly  of  Lady 
Jersey.  Lord  William  Russell,  her  brother-in- 
law,  had  just  been  murdered;  this  caused  her 
to  deplore  very  much,  a  few  days  ago,  in  the 
presence  of  the  Duchess  of  Gloucester,  the 
necessity  she  was  under  of  putting  off  her 
mourning  to  go  to  the  Drawing-room.  The 
good  Duchess  of  Gloucester  told  this  to  the 
Queen,  who  charged  her  aunt  to  say  to  Lady 
Jersey  that  she  could  understand  her  embar 
rassment,  and  would  dispense  with  her  pres 
ence  at  the  Drawing-room.  Lady  Jersey,  fu 
rious  at  not  being  able  to  go  to  Court,  tried 
to  persuade  the  Duchess  of  Gloucester,  who 
perceived  too  late  that  she  had  been  made  a 
dupe  of,  that  notwithstanding  the  permission 


20        RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

of  the  Queen,  she  owed  it  to  her  daughter, 
the  Countess  Sarah,  to  take  her  to  the  Draw 
ing-room.  They  say  it  was  a  very  funny  scene, 
and  she  was  obliged,  to  her  great  regret,  to 
give  it  up. 


II. 

May  26,  1840. 

I  HAVE  seen  Lord  Grey;  he  is  very  bitter 
about  the  prospect  of  affairs,  and  not  at  all 
happy  in  growing  old.  I  returned  to  M.  Gui- 
zot's:  he  has  great  assurance,  and  directs 
affairs  with  a  high  hand.  He  showed  me  a 
letter  of  twelve  pages  from  M.  Thiers,  but  did 
not  read  it  to  me.  It  crossed  my  mind  that 
there  was  probably  an  understanding  between 
these  two  to  deceive  him,  who  ought  to  be 
their  master.  M.  Guizot  is  very  polite  to  me  ; 
complimented  me  very  much  on  the  impres 
sion  I  had  left  in  London,  but  he  asked  me  so 
often  when  I  proposed  leaving  that  I  was  in 
clined  to  think  that  my  presence  annoyed 
him.  I  am  to  dine  with  him  to-day. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT.        21 

III. 

May  24,  1840. 

THE  dinner  at  the  French  Embassy,  after 
the  fashion  of  Louis  Esbrat,  was  very  good, 
the  appointments  of  the  table  elegant  enough, 
but  as  unlike  that  of  the  time  of  M.  de  Tal 
leyrand  as  the  two  men  were.  M.  Guizot 
did  his  best  to  make  the  conversation  lively, 
praised  his  wine  with  the  air  of  a  connoisseur 
while  drinking  and  passing  it  round  ;  but  all 
that  is  studied,  and  is  not  genuine.* 


IV. 

May  28,   1840. 

I  HAVE  been  to  see  Lady  Palmerston,  who 
looks  much  younger  and  is  much  gayer.  She 
spoke  to  me  of  her  uneasiness  at  the  arrival  of 
Madame  de  Lieven  ;  she  said  that  Bulow  was 
so  agitated  about  it  that  it  made  him  nervous 
and  sick.  Lord  Palmerston,  with  whom  I 
passed  two  hours,  has  been  frank  and  precise 

*  All  English  words  in  italics  throughout  the  book  are 
generally  M.  de  Bacourt's  own — or  his  printers',  and  some 
times  justify  careful  observation. 


22         RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

in  his  explanation  of  the  position  of  affairs  in 
America  and  Buenos  Ayres  that  I  had  to  treat 
of  with  him  ;  he  has  accepted  my  assistance  in 
America,  and  says  he  will  send  me  a  letter  for 
Mr.  Fox,  English  Minister  at  Washington,  in 
which  he  will  speak  of  me  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  establish  the  best  relations  between  us. 
He  has  clearly  explained  to  me,  and  I  think 
honestly,  the  cause  of  the  coolness  existing  for 
the  last  two  years  between  France  and  Eng 
land.  I  am  perfectly  satisfied  with  this  inter 
view,  the  results  of  which  will  be  very  useful 
to  me  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic.  I 
have  dined  with  Mr.  Ellis,  who  has  a  real  affec 
tion  for  Thiers ;  he  says  that  Thiers  and 
Guizot  understand  each  other  like  two  fingers 
on  the  same  hand. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT.         23 


V. 

LONDON,  May  29,  1840. 

I  THOUGHT  it  my  duty  to  give  M.  Guizot 
an  account  of  my  conversation  with  Lord 
Palmerston.  He  began  the  conversation  by 
inquiring  when  I  proposed  leaving.  He  can 
not  conceal  the  pleasure  he  feels  in  the  rejec 
tion  by  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  of  the  bill 
appropriating  a  million  for  the  erection  of  a 
statue  of  Napoleon :  he  sees  in  that  a  defeat 
for  the  Ministry,  and  rejoices  in  it.  Altogether, 
he  was  more  free  and  unreserved  in  his  conver 
sation.  He  said  that  M.  Thiers,  with  his 
nature,  could  never  resist  the  Left,  and  would 
be  drawn  in  by  them.  It  is  a  bad  moment  to 
pass  ;  the  troubled  waters  must  flow  off.  He 
accepted  congratulations  on  the  inheritance 
which  must  come  to  him  on  the  fall  of  his 
friend,  with  whom  "  he  is  like  two  ringers  on 
the  same  hand."  He  expects  the  Princess 
de  Lieven  on  the  I5th  of  June,  and  shows  no 
uneasiness  about  her  coming  ;  he  pretends  to 
be  astonished  at  the  terror  of  De  Brunow  and 
De  Bulow,  whom  he  laughs  at ;  in  fine,  he 


24         RECOLLECTIOXS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

hopes  to  settle  the  affairs  of  the  East,  and 
after  this  triumph  to  return  to  France  and 
"  mount  the  Capitol." 


VI. 

CLIFTON,  NEAR  BRISTOL,  June  3,  1840. 
I  LEFT  London  yesterday.  I  am  well  cured 
of  my  admiration  for  the  public  carriages  of 
England — only  fit  to  carry  travelling  agents  of 
robust  health,  and  pressed  for  time.  From 
London  to  Bath  we  passed  through  a  beautiful 
country,  justly  called  the  garden  of  England. 
I  am  here  in  a  small  inn  on  the  banks  of  the 
Avon,  at  a  hundred  yards'  distance  from  the 
bay  where  the  Great  Western  lies  :  they  pro 
posed  giving  me  an  apartment  overlooking  the 
bay  ;  I  refused.  I  shall  see  soon  enough  the 
ship  which  carries  me  over  there. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.        25 


VII.  1  o.' 

GLOBE  HOTEL,  NEW  YORK,  June  19,  1840. 

I  FOUND  no  pleasure  in  the  voyagepami"  T 
fear  that  you  will  not  find  much  in  reading  the 
narrative  which  I  now  resume  from  the  time 
of  my  departure.  Before  quitting  England  I 
wished  to  see  the  country  around  Clifton,  so 
celebrated  for  its  picturesque  sites.  The  lit 
tle  river  Avon  after  leaving  Bristol  enters  a 
gorge  seven  miles  in  length,  each  bank  formed 
by  perpendicular  rocks.  They  are  now  build 
ing  a  suspension  bridge  as  strong  as  that  of 
Fribourg  across  the  river,  and  while  waiting 
its  completion  the  passage  is  made  through 
the  air  in  baskets  sliding  on  chains. 

We  went  on  board  on  June  4,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Avon,  where  the  Great  Western  was 
anchored.  General  Chatry  de  la  Fosse  cried 
bitterly  at  parting  with  his  son,  whom  he  had 
accompanied  here.  The  Great  Western  is  a 
magnificent  boat  of  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
six  feet  in  length,  by  fifty-four  in  breadth  and 
forty-nine  feet  deep.  The  steam-engine  is  of 
four  hundred  and  fifty  horse-power.  It  is 


26        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

imposing  to  look  at  from  far  off  or  near  by. 
Now,  if  you  will  allow  me,  we  will  examine 
the  interior,  and  you  can  judge  if  it  is  as  agree 
able  to  live  in.  The  deck  is  divided  into  three 
parts  :  forward,  occupied  by  the  crew,  servants, 
etc.  etc. ;  the  middle,  where  the  engine  is, 
and  what  I  call  the  menagerie  ;  and  the  after 
part,  where  the  passengers  have  a  large  space 
to  walk  in.  Upon  the  after-deck  there  is  a 
large  saloon,  the  centre  of  which  is  glazed  to 
give  light  to  the  dining-room  which  is  below ; 
around  these  two  are  the  passengers'  cabins. 
The  engine  and  the  menagerie  occupy  the 
centre.  The  cabins  of  the  domestics,  those  of 
the  crew,  and  the  kitchens  occupy  the  part 
below  the  forward  deck.  All  this  is  well  ar 
ranged,  grand  to  see  ;  but  God  help  the  ner 
vous  invalids  who  live  there.  In  this  space 
that  I  have  described  are  packed  together 
eighty-five  passengers,  men,  women,  and  chil 
dren  ;  ninety-two  of  the  crew,  twenty-five  of 
whom  are  negroes  or  mulattoes,  justly  cele 
brated  for  their  disagreeable  odor;  then  there 
are  two  cows,  twelve  pigs,  ten  sheep,  twenty- 
five  chickens,  and  as  many  ducks,  geese,  and 
turkeys,  not  one  of  which  was  killed  on  the 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.         2J 

voyage,  being  reserved  for  the  return  pas 
sage.  Imagine  all  these  drinking,  eating,  sleep, 
ing,  crying,  singing,  bellowing,  bleating,  add  to 
this  the  noise  of  the  engine  and  the  orders  for 
the  management  of  the  vessel  ;  imagine  your 
self  shut  up  in  a  state-room  seven  feet  long, 
seven  feet  wide,  and  seven  feet  high, — and  you 
will  have  a  correct  idea  of  the  pleasure  of  the 
voyage.  It  is  nothing  when  the  weather  is 
good  and  the  sea  calm  ;  but  if  the  sea  is  rough, 
half  of  these  people  are  sick,  so  are  the  ani 
mals  ;  then  it  becomes  an  infernal  abode. 

We  weighed  anchor  the  4th  of  June  at  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  proceeded  down 
the  Bristol  Channel,  bounded  on  one  side  by  the 
coast  of  Ireland,  and  on  the  other  by  the  high 
rocky  shores  of  Devonshire  and  Cornwall,  cov 
ered  with  verdure.  Leaving  the  Bristol  Chan 
nel  we  encountered  a  north-west  wind,  which 
was  against  us,  and  continued  until  last  night, 
making  our  voyage  much  rougher;  but  the 
Great  Western — which,  we  may  truly  say, 
makes  her  way  in  spite  of  wind  or  wave — • 
stopped  for  nothing;  on  the  fourteenth  day 
we  entered  the  port  of  New  York. 

On  the  loth  the  sea  rose  very  high  and  the 


28        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

night  was  terrible,  but  at  all  events  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  a  real  tempest.  On  the  I3th 
we  met  a  French  fishing-boat  of  Saint-Malo, 
which  had  been  out  four  months.  The  meet 
ing  of  any  vessel  is  a  great  event,  being  a  quar 
ter  of  an  hour's  distraction  from  the  most 
killing  monotony.  On  the  I5th  a  cry  of  alarm 
was  heard,  and  the  engine  stopped  suddenly ; 
a  general  panic  took  possession  of  every  one ; 
they  tumbled  out  of  their  berths ;  some  cried 
fire,  and  others  that  the  boiler  was  going  to 
burst.  The  agony  was  great.  The  fact  was 
that  a  poor  sailor  while  fixing  something  in 
the  rigging  had  fallen  overboard ;  the  whole 
length  of  the  vessel  had  passed  over  him  with 
out  touching  him  —  a  real  miracle!  They 
threw  a  boat  into  the  sea,  and  as  he  was  a  good 
swimmer  he  was  soon  fished  out.  The  whole 
affair  only  lasted  fifteen  minutes,  thanks  to 
the  admirable  English  discipline.  We  took  an 
American  pilot  on  the  i8th,  and  that  night 
about  one  o'clock  we  entered  the  port  of  New 
York,  and  went  on  shore  at  five  o'clock  in  the 
morning. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.         29 

VIII. 

NEW  YORK,  June  20,  1840. 

I  FOUND  it  delightful  to  sleep  in  a  bed  after 
fifteen  nights'  confinement  in  a  kind  of  coffin. 
I  have  come  to  the  conclusion,  after  the  voy 
age  I  have  made :  in  the  first  place,  that  I  am 
a  very  bad  sailor;  and  in  the  second,  that  the 
sea  is  a  very  sad  element,  and  that  life  at  sea 
is  perfectly  insipid.  The  imagination  of  poets 
may  find  in  the  immensity  of  water  and  sky 
beauties  that  I  have  never  seen,  but  I  declare 
to  you  that  the  rising  and  setting  of  the  sun, 
the  moon,  and  the  stars  are  just  as  beautiful 
on  land  as  at  sea. 

Yesterday  I  went  on  shore  with  M.  de  la 
Fosse,  with  whom,  I  will  say  here,  I  was 
much  pleased  during  the  passage.  We  went 
immediately  to  the  office  of  the  Consul- 
General,  M.  de  la  Forest ;  he  was  absent,  and 
we  were  obliged  to  seek  the  Vice-Consul,  a  lit 
tle  fool,  who  so  badly  managed  affairs  that  we 
could  not  get  our  luggage  until  late  in  the 
afternoon.  I  shall  pass  a  week  here  probably 
to  settle  some  business  matters.  I  have  seen 


30        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

nothing  of  the  city  yet,  except  in  going 
and  coming  from  the  consulate  to  the  hotel. 
The  first  impression  is  not  favorable:  the 
houses  are  ugly,  built  of  brick,  with  areas  in 
the  English  fashion ;  stone  sidewalks  every 
where  ;  and  streets  paved  with  large  cobble 
stones — very  bad  for  carriages  and  disagree 
able  for  those  who  ride  in  them;  many  of  the 
streets  are  planted  with  trees ;  it  has  the  ap 
pearance  of  a  large  provincial  town,  with  a 
mixture  of  Dutch ;  and  there  is  the  constant 
busy  movement  of  a  mercantile  population  of 
three  hundred  thousand  souls. 


IX. 

NEW  YORK,  June  21,  1840. 

I  HAVE  not  been  able  to  quiet  my  spirits, 
and  have  a  feeling  of  deep  sadness  and  regret 
already  for  that  other  part  of  the  world  which 
seems  to  me  the  best.  I  have  been  to  the 
Battery — the  only  thing  I  was  curious  to  see, 
because  of  its  association  in  my  mind  with 
M.  de  Talleyrand  and  his  adventure  with 
M.  Beaumetz.  It  is  an  ancient  fortification, 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.         31 

which  forms  the  southern  point  of  a  penin 
sula  on  which  the  city  of  New  York  is  situ 
ated.  This  Battery  is  now  occupied  by  an 
amphitheatre  built  of  painted  boards,  in  which 
are  given  sometimes  equestrian  and  other 
performances,  and  at  other  times  is  used  as  a 
public  cafe"  ;  it  is  in  very  bad  taste,  and  disfig 
ures  an  interesting  place.  From  the  platform 
on  top  the  view  is  large :  one  of  the  shores  of 
this  peninsula  is  washed  by  the  North  River, 
also  called  the  Hudson,  and  the  other  by  the 
East  River,  which  is  really  a  branch  of  the  sea 
coming  out  of  the  bay  of  Long  Island  ;  these 
two  rivers  flow  into  each  other  opposite  the 
Battery  and  form  the  harbor  of  New  York, 
which  is  interspersed  with  lovely  islands  cov 
ered  with  verdure,  beyond  which  can  be  seen 
the  inhabited  shores  of  New  Jersey  covered 
with  trees.  Innumerable  vessels  of  all  kinds 
occupy  the  banks  of  the  two  rivers  :  that  of 
the  Hudson  is  reserved  for  boats  which  are 
navigated  through  the  canals  and  rivers  in  the 
interior  of  the  United  States  ;  that  of  the  East 
receives  vessels  arriving  from  or  leaving  for  all 
parts  of  the  globe.  These  sailing-vessels  and 
steamers  of  every  size,  going  and  coming  in 


32        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

every  direction,  add  greatly  to  the  beauty  of 
New  York. 

On  descending  from  the  Battery  you  enter 
a  little  square,  the  trees  in  which  are  withered 
by  the  winds  from  the  sea.  From  this  square 
commences  the  great  street  of  New  York, 
Broadway,  which  runs  parallel  with  the  two 
rivers,  and  at  an  equal  distance  from  each,  for 
the  space  of  three  miles ;  cross  streets  run  to 
the  banks  of  each  river  from  Broadway,  and  it 
is  in  this  way  that  the  city  is  built,  extending 
very  far  in  this  shape,  and  growing  larger  every 
day.  In  1731  the  population  of  this  great 
commercial  city  was  8000;  now  it  is  300,000. 
Broadway  is  the  principal  street  ;  all  the  shops 
are  there,  the  handsomest  houses,  and  impor 
tant  establishments;  but  it  has  the  air  of  a 
town  sacrificed  to  trade  :  there  is  not  a  monu 
ment,  or  a  well-built  house,  that  is  not  spoiled 
by  something  narrow  and  of  bad  taste.  With 
the  exception  of  dirtily  dressed  negroes  and 
negresses,  all  the  men  and  women  one  meets 
are  dressed  in  good  taste,  without  any  differ 
ence  between  the  more  or  less  rich.  The  men 
are  of  the  English  type,  strong  and  robust,  but 
not  graceful.  I  have  seen  many  women  with 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT.         33 

red  hair,  but  as  yet  have   seen    none   of   the 
much-talked-of  American  beauties. 


X. 

NEW  YORK,  June  22,  1840. 

I  HAVE  already  had  a  sample  of  the  Ameri 
can  climate :  on  my  arrival  the  weather  was 
cold,  then  suddenly  changed  to  the  most  in 
tense  heat.  I  went  to  Mass  yesterday  in  a 
church  which  had  the  appearance  of  a  Protes 
tant  temple  ;  it  was  crowded  to  suffocation — no 
doubt  on  account  of  the  Fete-Dieu.  The  ser 
vice  was  good,  with  the  exception  of  the  sing 
ing,  the  music  being  decidedly  secular.  No 
body  visits  here  on  Sunday,  although  New 
York  is  not  as  puritanical  as  Boston,  where  a 
few  years  ago  they  closed  the  streets  with 
chains  on  Sundays  and  holydays  to  prevent 
carriages  from  passing.  The  number  of 
strangers  residing  in  New  York  have  some 
what  changed  the  manners  and  customs.  If 
I  can  believe  what  M.  Berger,  a  physician 
whom  I  saw  this  morning,  told  me,  American 
puritanism  cannot  be  worth  much.  He  as- 


34        RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

sured  me  that  at  the  present  time  there  were 
not  four  persons,  even  amongst  those  in  the 
highest  positions,  who  had  not  been  bankrupt 
or  on  the  point  of  being  so,  notwithstanding 
which  they  made  no  change  in  their  habits  of 
living  acquired  in  prosperous  times. 

I  have  received  a  visit  from  one  of  my  col 
leagues  at  Washington,  M.  de  Nordin,  charge 
d'affaires  of  Sweden.  He  gives  me  a  sad  pic 
ture  of  Washington,  where  the  Diplomatic 
Corps  can  find  no  resources  but  in  their  own 
circle,  and  whist  is  the  only  amusement  they 
indulge  in.  M.  de  la  Forest,  the  Consul,  who 
has  arrived  from  Philadelphia,  has  also  been  to 
see  me:  he  is  a  quondam  young  man,  stout, 
with  an  attempt  at  elegance ;  he  has  offered 
his  services  to  me,  and  seems  obliging.  We 
shall  see. 


RECOLLECTION'S  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.         3$ 


XL 

NEW  YORK,  June  23,  1840. 

I  HAVE  been  with  M.  de  la  Forest,  talking 
over  business  matters  with  which  I  have  been 
entrusted.  The  Consul  is  decidedly  a  good 
fellow,  but  just  as  he  has  been  described  to 
me — without  brains.  We  have  made  a  round  of 
visits  together.  I  have  left  with  Messrs.  Mar- 

o 

tinet  and  John  Livingston  letters  from  Bresson, 
who  is  a  relation  of  theirs ;  they  are  men  of 
distinction.  I  also  took  Baths'  letters  to  Mr. 
Goodhue  ;  he  is  one  of  the  richest  men  in  New 
York,  and  solid,  which  is  exceptional.  On 
leaving  him  I  went  to  see  Mr.  James  King,  of 
the  house  of  Prime,  Ward  &  King,  correspon 
dents  of  the  Hottingucrs.  Mr.  James  King 
has  an  older  brother,  Charles  King,  distin 
guished  for  his  wit,  whose  acquaintance  I  also 
made.  They  are  the  sons  of  a  Mr.  King 
whom  M.  de  Talleyrand  knew  very  well,  and 
who  had  been  the  friend  of  Washington,  and 
Minister  from  America  to  London  during  the 
entire  term  of  Washington's  Presidency.  Since 
the  death  of  General  Washington  all  the 


36        RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

Kings  have  been  prominent  in  the  opposition, 
which  is  called  here  the  Whig  Party, — that  is  to 
say,  the  aristocratic  party, — who  contend  that 
the  present  form  of  government  is  too  demo 
cratic,  that  it  has  corrupted  the  work  of  Wash 
ington  and  his  friends,  the  founders  of  the  Re 
public.  The  Messrs.  King  are  among  the  lead 
ers  of  this  party,  who  are  so  violently  opposed 
to  the  government.  Every  one  agrees  in  ac 
knowledging  their  personal  merit.  Mr.  James 
King,  who  is  the  head  of  the  house,  has  en 
gaged  me  to  dine  with  him  the  day  after  to 
morrow,  at  his  country-seat  six  miles  from  New 
York,  and  to  bring  M.  de  la  Fosse  with  me. 

I  dined  at  my  hotel  with  M.  de  la  Fosse,  and 
M.  de  la  Forest  took  us  in  the  evening  to  see 

M.  and  Madame  F :  he  says  they  are  the 

only  respectable  French  family  residing  in  New 
York ;  it  is  with  this  family  he  passes  all  his 
time.  The  husband  appeared  to  me  very  vul 
gar;  the  wife,  who  is  better,  and  must  have 
been  pretty,  is  a  grand-niece  of  M.  de  Seze. 
They  have  five  grown-up  daughters,  and  two 
boys.  The  Consul  says  they  are  all  very 
charming,  and  have  only  one  fault — that  of  be 
ing  poor.  One  of  these  young  ladies  sang  re- 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.         37 

markably ;  she  had  the  same  master  who  taught 
Madame  Malibran,  who  made  her  dtbut  in 
New  York.  These  ladies  spoke  of  the  powers 
of  the  Countess  Merlin,  who  has  made  a  great 
sensation  here,  particularly  with  her  singing ; 
and  she  has  gone  to  Havana,  but  intends  to 
pass  next  winter  in  the  United  States. 


XII. 

NEW  YORK,  June  26,  1840. 

I  DINED  with  M.  de  la  Fosse  the  day  before 
yesterday  at  the  best  restaurant  in  New  York. 
We  had  a  detestable  dinner  and  very  dear ;  and 
in  the  evening,  for  want  of  something  to  do,  we 
went  to  Niblos  Garden,  the  Tivoli  of  this  town, 
much  lower  than  the  cJiaumiere  du  Montparnasse. 

The  country-seat  of  Mr.  King  is  in  New 
Jersey;  in  the  park,  which  is  quite  large,  and 
laid  out  in  the  English  fashion,  the  potato 
generally  takes  the  place  of  green  turf :  the 
American  character  must  ahvays  show  a  little, 
even  in  his  luxe.  The  house,  built  of  a  beauti 
ful  gray  stone,  is  a  square  pavilion  surrounded 
by  a  gallery  supported  by  columns :  at  the  end 


38         RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMA  T. 

of  the  house  are  greenhouses,  after  the  English 
fashion.  The  interior  is  also  arranged  and  fur 
nished  in  the  English  style.  Everything  is  a 
weak  imitation  of  the  English.  ,At  present, 
America  and  the  Americans  give  me  the  im 
pression  of  an  England  and  Englishmen  of  sec 
ond  and  third  rate — particularly  those  whose 
position  is  not  so  high  as  that  of  the  family 
whom  I  dined  with  yesterday,  who  are  consid 
ered  the  most  aristocratic  of  the  country. 

The  mistress  of  the  house,  who  is  forty  years 
of  age,  is  as  faded  as  one  of  sixty  would  be  in 
Europe ;  one  can  see,  nevertheless,  that  she 
has  been  pretty.  Mrs.  Duer,  her  daughter,  is 
fat  and  fresh ;  but  her  sister-in-law,  Miss  Duer, 
twenty  years  old,  and  very  like  Madame 
de  Marescalchi,  is  entirely  passe?.  Eighteen 
months  ago  she  was  the  belle  not  only  of  New 
York,  but  of  the  United  States.  It  seems  that 
this  is  the  case  with  all  American  women : 
generally  very  pretty  from  sixteen  to  eighteen, 
they  soon  lose  their  teeth,  their  color,  and  at 
twenty  they  look  twice  their  age.  The  ex 
treme  changes  in  the  climate  are  thought  to  be 
the  cause.  The  other  guests  at  dinner  were 
Messrs.  John  and  Charles  King,  brothers  of  the 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.         39 

host ;  Mr.  Duer,  his  son-in-law,  and  his  father,  a 
fine-looking  man  of  seventy  years  of  age  ;  Mr. 
Astor,  M.  de  la  Forest,  M.  de  la  Fosse,  and  my 
self.  All  these  gentlemen  are  well  enough,  no 
doubt,  but  are  second-class  English,  notwith 
standing  they  are  amongst  the  gentlemen  the 
most  refined  in  this  country.  They  try  to  be 
elegant,  but  you  see  that  it  is  not  their  every 
day  manner,  and  that  they  feel  embarrassed — 
with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Duer,  the  father, 
who  has  the  polish  of  olden  times,  with  a  dis 
tinguished  appearance  and  manners.  He  knew 
the  French  officers  who  accompanied  M.  de 
Lafayette  to  America  fifty  years  ago ;  he  has 
seen  M.  de  Talleyrand — in  fact,  he  is  a  man  of 
another  generation,  and  time  passes  quickly  in 
America.  The  only  pleasure  I  have  had  since 
my  arrival  in  this  country  has  been  to  witness 
the  deep  impression  M.  de  Talleyrand  left  here. 
On  my  return  to  New  York  I  will  see  Mr. 
Gallatin,  who  is  still  alive  ;  he  is  eighty  years  of 
(age,  and  they  say  talks  a  great  deal  about  M. 
de  Talleyrand.  Let  us  go  back  to  the  dinner, 
which  was  a  very  bad  English  dinner,  seasoned 
to  the  last  degree  with  pepper :  the  garniture 
of  the  table  was  elegant,  but  the  attendance 


40        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

very  bad,  which  appears  to  be  the  case  in  every 
State  in  America  where  slavery  has  been  abol 
ished.  They  have  the  greatest  difficulty  in 
finding  and  keeping  servants,  or  helps,  as  they 
call  them.  They  drank  moderately,  and  the 
gentlemen  remained  but  a  short  time  after  the 
ladies  had  left  the  table ;  but  I  think  that  the 
presence  of  three  Frenchmen  was  the  cause  of 
this  hasty  retreat.  At  this  aristocratic  dinner 
all  the  guests  were  of  the  opposition  party,  the 
present  Administration  being  purely  Demo 
cratic. 

On  leaving  the  table,  I  was  taken  to  the  gar 
den,  where  I  enjoyed  a  splendid  view.  From 
the  top  of  a  hill  covered  with  beautiful  trees, 
two  hundred  feet  above  the  Hudson  River,  we 
could  see  the  whole  length  of  the  peninsula  of 
New  York,  and  in  the  distance  the  East  River 
and  Long  Island ;  to  the  left,  ten  miles  of  the 
Hudson  River  flowing  majestically  through 
a  well-wooded  country;  and  on  the  right  the 
entire  bay  of  New  York,  enlivened  by  hundreds 
of  vessels  of  every  size :  this  picture  was  lit  up 
by  a  brilliant  sun,  accompanied  by  an  agree 
able  sea-breeze. 

At  nine  o'clock  I  took  my  leave,  returning 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.        41 

by  the  boat  which  is  used  in  crossing  the  North 
River.  We  passed  through  a  forest  filled  with 
rhododendrons  in  full  flower,  which  grow  here 
in  the  woods  and  fields,  over  which  sparkled  as 
they  flew  a  species  of  insects  called  here  fire 
flies,  and  whose  wings  are  golden.  The  night 
was  superb  ;  the  sky,  of  a  clearness  unknown  in 
Europe,  became  little  by  little  illuminated  by 
stars  infinitely  more  brilliant  than  in  our  cli 
mate.  Before  going  home  we  paid  a  visit  to 
Madame  F ,  who  seemed  to  me  to  be  sin 
gularly  attractive  to  M.  de  la  Forest. 

I  leave  to-morrow  for  Philadelphia ;  from 
there  I  shall  go  to  Baltimore,  where  I  shall 
spend  the  3Oth,  and  arrive  in  Washington  on 
July  I.  I  was  near  forgetting  an  anecdote 
characteristic  of  America  which  some  one  told 
yesterday  at  table :  A  girl  whose  antecedents 
were  bad  was  married  about  two  years  ago  in 
New  York  and  continued  in  the  same  course. 
Her  father,  in  speaking  of  her,  said  that  she 
was  a  worthless  person ;  she  brought  a  suit 
against  him  for  defamation  of  character  and 
recovered  one  thousand  dollars  damages. 
They  say  she  has  implored  her  father  to  con 
tinue  his  abuse  of  her. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMA  T. 


XIII. 

PHILADELPHIA,  June  27,  1840. 

So  far,  I  am  not  particularly  delighted  with 
the  American  style  of  travelling,  and  less  so 
with  the  arrangements  of  the  hotels:  their 
appearance  of  cleanliness  and  elegance  im 
presses  you  at  first  sight,  but  they  are  want 
ing  in  necessary  comforts.  The  furniture  is 
handsome  enough,  but  an  easy-chair  or  a 
night-table  is  not  to  be  found,  nor  in  fact  are 
many  other  articles  of  the  toilet  or  for  one's 
comfort.  If  you  ask  for  them,  you  receive 
a  brutal  answer  to  the  effect  there  are  none, 
and  that  nobody  ever  uses  such  things.  The 
servants  are  insolent ;  American  travellers 
never  give  them  any  gratuities,  and  are  served 
accordingly. 

Yesterday  I  went  on  board  the  steam 
boat  with  all  my  colony,  for  we  are  five — 
M.  de  la  Fosse,  myself,  and  our  servants.  We 
were  taken  across  the  river  to  New  Jersey, 
where  we  were  obliged  to  make  a  rush  to  find 
places  in  the  cars  of  the  railroad,  and  to  con 
tend  against  that  American  rudeness  which 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.        43 

spares  no  one,  except  the  women,  who  have  a 
car  apart.  The  American  railways  are  not 
solid,  and  are  subjected  to  many  accidents;  they 
have  the  merit  of  going  fast,  but  this  advan 
tage  is  balanced  by  numberless  inconveniences: 
the  roads  are  rough;  the  engines  heated  by 
wood,  whose  flames  spread  in  every  direction 
and  often  set  on  fire  the  woods  they  pass 
through ;  cinders  penetrate  the  cars,  and  at 
the  end  of  the  journey  one  has  the  appearance 
of  a  coal-heaver.  The  rapidity  with  which 
they  travel  does  not  allow  them  to  stop,  either 
to  eat  or  for  anything  else.  Another  peculiar 
ity — I  suppose  owing  to  their  boasted  form  of 
government — is  the  entire  absence  of  all  police, 
and  the  certainty  of  being  surrounded  by 
thieves;  I  say  the  certainty,  for  there  is  posted 
in  every  corner  of  every  establishment  notices 
containing  these  words:  ''Beware  of  pick 
pockets,"  and  "  The  company  are  not  responsi 
ble  for  any  robbery."  Then,  don't  forget  that 
all  Americans  chew  tobacco  and  spit  continu 
ally  around  them,  and  it  is  difficult  to  keep 
out  of  this  filth.  A  Frenchman  who  came 
over  with  me  on  the  Great  Western  was 
robbed  of  his  pocket-book  with  all  his  money 


44        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMA  7". 

on  the  road  I  went  over  yesterday;  and  I  have 
noticed  that  the  Americans,  aware  of  this 
danger,  have  their  pockets  made  to  open  from 
the  inside  and  not  from  the  outside,  as  is  the 
custom  everywhere  else. 

The  country  we  have  passed  through  is 
marshy,  with  pools  and  small  streams  on  all 
sides,  flat,  badly  cultivated,  and  barren  in  ap 
pearance,  and  does  not  improve  until  you 
get  near  Philadelphia,  a  large  city  of  two 
hundred  and  forty  thousand  inhabitants, 
which  is  said  to  be  the  most  beautiful  in  the 
Union.  The  houses  are  in  fact  a  little  better 
built  than  in  New  York,  but  always  of  red 
brick;  the  sidewalks  are  also  of  brick;  there 
are  some  handsome  edifices  in  granite.  The 
city  seems  much  quieter  and  with  fewer  signs 
of  trade  than  in  New  York ;  it  is  the  scientific 
capital  of  the  country ;  they  say  that  the 
society,  being  less  engrossed  in  trade,  is  more 
agreeable  than  in  other  places. 

I  had  engaged  rooms  at  the  Union  Hotel, 
through  our  Consul,  M.  Maurice  d'Hauterive, 
brother-in-law  of  M.  de  la  Forest :  I  expected 
to  find  everything  comfortably  arranged,  and 
have  found  nothing  but  a  miserable  little 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.        45 

bedroom,  in  which  I  am  writing  on  my  knees ; 
they  have  promised  to  give  me  a  parlor  some 
time  to-day.  I  went  to  see  M.  d'Hauterive, 
who  is  said  to  be  an  able  Consul,  but  not  an 
amiable  man :  I  had  found  this  out  already. 
I  found  at  his  house  M.  Pageot,  until  now  our 
charge  d'affaires  at  Washington  ;  he  said  he 
came  to  meet  me,  and  guarantees  me  a  cordial 
reception  from  the  Administration,  from  the 
Diplomatic  Corps,  and  from  the  small  circle 
which  composes  the  society  there,  offering  few 
other  resources. 

All  Philadelphia  was  astir  to  see  Fanny 
Elssler,  who  danced  this  evening.  She  is  in 
the  same  hotel  with  me.  I  was  much  pleased 
with  her  dancing,  but  what  amused  me  as 
much  was  to  see  the  hall  crowded,  and  to 
hear  the  furious  applause,  far  exceeding  Lon 
don  or  Paris,  and  that  at  Philadelphia,  the 
chief  city  of  the  Quakers — Quakers  wildly 
excited  over  the  dancer  Fanny  Elssler.  The 
theatre  is  neither  large  nor  well  arranged  ;  on 
the  first  row  were  many  very  pretty  women, 
all  young,  and  dressed  so  exactly  alike,  that 
one  would  have  taken  them  for  sisters  had 
there  not  been  so  many  of  them. 


46        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 


XIV. 

June  28,  1840. 

I  WAS  anxious  to  be  settled  at  Washington, 
but  M.  Pageot  assured  me  that  it  would  be 
very  dangerous  in  my  condition  of  health  to 
live  there  during  the  next  three  months  on 
account  of  the  intense  heat.  I  regret  it,  as  this 
hotel  life  is  hateful  to  me.  I  paid  a  visit  to 
Madame  Pageot,  a  tall,  thin  American  woman, 
with  an  enormous  waist,  and  protruding  bad 
teeth;  her  husband  married  her  some  years 
ago  on  account  of  her  great  beauty.  I  made 
her  acquaintance  and  took  my  leave  of  her  at 
the  same  time.  She  will  remain  in  Philadel 
phia  until  her  departure  for  Europe,  which  will 
take  place  the  1st  of  August,  by  the  steamboat 
the  British  Queen.  Her  husband  accompanies 
me  to  Washington  to  hand  over  the  Legation 
to  me. 

Mr.  H.  Raincy,  the  most  distinguished  law 
yer  in  Philadelphia,  formerly  a  member  of 
Congress,  to  whom  Bates  had  recommended 
me,  has  been  to  see  me,  and  talked  a  great  deal 
of  our  dear  friend  Labouchere. 

I  have  visited  the  City  Hall,  and  the  room 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT.         A 7 

where  the  famous  Declaration  of  Independ 
ence  of  the  colonies  then  in  revolt  against 
England  was  signed.  There  is  to  be  seen  here 
a  wooden  statue  of  Washington  and  two  full- 
length  portraits  —  one  of  Franklin  and  the 
other  of  Lafayette.  The  most  of  the  signers 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  were  hon 
orable  men,  who  believed  they  were  acting  for 
the  good  of  their  country.  Since  then  the 
times  and  the  men  have  changed  here  as  with 
us,  where  the  noble  and  generous  illusions  of 
the  members  of  the  Assembly  have  been  re 
placed  by  the  weakness  of  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies, 

On  returning  to  my  hotel  I  called  on  Made 
moiselle  Elssler.  She  kindly  expressed  re 
gret  at  not  having  made  the  passage  across 
with  me.  Her  performances  in  the  United 
States  are,  I  think,  very  successful  and  remu 
nerative.  She  does  not  bear  close  inspection, 
and  her  smile  is  spoiled  by  very  bad  teeth. 
She  remains  in  Philadelphia  a  week  longer, 
and  will  then  give  four  representations  at 
Washington,  where  I  shall  see  her  again.  I 
leave  to-morrow  morning  by  steamboat  for 
Baltimore. 


48        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 


XV. 

BALTIMORE,  June  29,  1840. 

You  see  I  continue  to  advance  in  my  jour 
ney  toward  my  capital,  where  I  shall  be  the 
day  after  to-morrow  at  noon.  I  wish,  before 
taking  up  my  narrative,  to  thank  you  for  an 
invitation  I  received  at  New  York,  and  which 
I  carelessly  forgot  to  acknowledge.  Young 
Alexander  Hamilton,  whom  you  saw  at  Val- 
engay,  brought  me,  just  before  I  left  New 
York,  a  very  kind  letter  from  his  father  in 
viting  me  to  spend  a  few  days  at  Nevis,  where 
he  lives,  about  twenty-five  miles  from  New 
York,  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson.  He 
writes  that  if  his  health  had  not  been  so  bad 
he  should  have  come  to  see  me  in  New  York, 
in  person  immediately  on  receipt  of  your  let 
ter,  being  most  anxious  to  obey  the  wishes  of 
his  illustrious  friend  the  Duchess.  I  thanked 
young  Hamilton  very  much ;  he  is  a  young 
man  of  polished  manners,  bright,  and  speaks 
French  very  well.  On  my  return  to  New 
York  I  shall  go  to  Nevis.  The  family,  owing 
to  the  memory  of  the  General,  is  highly 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMA  T.         49 

thought  of  in  this  country.  The  Hamilton 
you  knew  in  France  was  a  great  friend  of  Mr. 
Van  Buren,  but  has  become  his  enemy  and 
most  bitter  opponent  on  account  of  being 
turned  out  of  his  place  of  Collector  of  Cus 
toms  in  New  York,  where  he  had  been  guilty 
of  embezzlement  of  the  public  money.  This, 
however,  does  not  injure  his  reputation  here, 
but  what  adds  to  it  is  the  million  of  francs 
which  he  acquired  during  the  five  years  he 
occupied  his  place.*  They  say  his  family  and 
his  home  are  very  agreeable ;  so,  thanks  for 
your  kind  introduction.  The  day  before  yes 
terday,  Sunday,  I  went  to  Philadelphia,  to  a 
church  constructed  on  exactly  the  same  plan 
as  the  one  in  New  York;  it  is  the  plan  com 
mon  to  all  the  churches  here  :  a  long  low 
building;  galleries  on  each  side  supported  by 
wooden  columns ;  at  the  end  one  altar  only, 
without  a  choir,  and  the  organ  above  the  en 
trance-door.  The  service  is  very  well  done  in 
Philadelphia;  the  music  less  secular  than  at 

*  M.  de  Bacourt  evidently  confounded  Mr.  Hamilton 
with  some  other  person,  as  the  Mr.  Hamilton  above  re 
ferred  to  never  held  the  office  of  Collector  of  Customs  of 
Now  York.  He  was  District  Attorney  under  Jackson. 


50        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMA  T. 

New  York,  and  the  men  as  numerous  as  the 
women. 

M.  d'Hauterive  took  me  to  see  the  city, 
which  is  beautiful,  and  would  be  more  so  with 
out  the  bright-red  color  of  the  bricks.  All 
the  frames  of  the  doors  and  windows  are  of 
white  marble,  as  are  also  the  door-steps.  The 
streets,  which  are  regular  and  at  right  angles, 
are  planted  with  trees.  I  saw  Washington 
Square,  which  is  the  elegant  square ;  then 
Franklin  Square,  which  is  the  popular  one : 
they  are  very  pretty,  with  fountains  and  beau 
tiful  trees.  The  common  people  who  walk  in 
them,  notwithstanding  the  solemnity  of  Sun 
day,  are  not  at  all  rough.  I  saw  also  a  superb 
covered  market,  one  mile  and  a  half  in  length, 
remarkably  well  kept.  Philadelphia  resembles 
my  dear  cities  of  Holland :  the  same  regular 
ity,  verdure  everywhere,  and  the  same  death 
like  silence.  M.  d'Hauterive  says  that  the 
society  here  is  really  distinguished.  He  spoke 
to  me  of  a  woman  of  great  intelligence  bear 
ing  the  grotesque  name  of  "  Cigogne  !"  A 
French  Creole  by  birth,  she  came  here  after 
the  disasters  in  our  colonies,  and  established  a 
boarding-school,  in  which  for  the  last  thirty 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMA  T.         5  I 

years  all  the  young  girls  of  the  best  society 
have  been  educated.  She  holds  the  highest 
position  in  society  here,  and  gives  parties  and 
dinners — all  this,  of  course,  aside  from  her 
school,  which  continues  its  routine,  and  with 
which  she  occupies  herself  in  her  leisure  hours. 
My  predecessor,  M.  Pontois,  visited  her  often, 
and  as  she  has  expressed  a  wish  to  see  me,  it 
is  agreed  that  I  shall  be  presented  to  her  on 
my  next  visit  to  Philadelphia. 

I  went  with  M.  Pageot  on  board  of  a  steam 
boat,  which  took  us  down  the  Delaware  River 
to  French  Town,  a  little  village,  where  we  left 
our  boat  and  were  taken  by  railroad,  in  one 
hour,  to  Elk  Town,  another  small  village  on 
the  shores  of  the  Chesapeake,  a  bay  celebrated 
in  the  records  of  American  Independence. 
There  we  took  another  boat,  which  carried 
us  to  Baltimore.  All  these  transshipments 
were  made  with  incredible  rapidity  and  order, 
no  noise  and  no  embarrassment,  and  the  boats 
are  excellent  and  well  managed. 

I  talked  a  great  deal  during  the  journey 
with  M.  Pageot,  who  gave  me  a  great  deal  of 
information  about  the  details  of  my  Legation 
and  the  organization  of  my  household.  It 


52         RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

seems  that  the  great  difficulty  of  the  Mission 
is  to  find  matter  for  dispatches.  M.  Pageot 
has  a  sound  understanding,  but  his  intelligence 
has  been  blunted  by  a  residence  here  of  ten 
years.  He  goes  back  to  Europe  very  much 
discontented  with  his  long  exile.  He  pursued 
his  journey  to  Washington,  where  he  will  be 
kind  enough  to  arrange  for  my  accommoda 
tion  at  the  hotel.  I  have  stopped  here  at  a 
large  hotel  called  "Exchange  House"  built  by 
Jerome  Bonaparte,  son  of  Miss  Patterson,  who 
is  married,  and  lives  in  Baltimore. 

After  dinner  I  received  the  Count  de 
Menou,  formerly  Secretary  of  the  French 
Legation  at  Washington,  deprived  of  his  place 
under  the  Restoration  for  not  having  once 
written  to  his  Government  during  eighteen 
months  that  he  had  been  charge"  d'affaires  to 
the  United  States.  He  is  reduced  to  extreme 
poverty,  and  does  anything  he  can  for  a  living. 
I  have  promised  him  the  same  assistance  that 
my  predecessors  have  given  him.  He  has  an 
original  mind,  knows  the  country  well,  and  has 
already  furnished  me  with  a  great  amount  of 
information.  In  the  evening  he  took  me  to 
see  the  city,  which  contains  more  than  one 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.         53 

hundred  thousand  inhabitants.  Not  so  beau 
tiful  as  Philadelphia,  and  situated  in  the  form 
of  an  amphitheatre.  There  are  some  large 
monuments  here,  amongst  others  the  column 
erected  in  memory  of  General  Washington,  by 
the  State  of  Maryland.  This  column,  of  white 
marble,  surmounted  by  the  statue  of  the  Gen 
eral,  looks  like  an  organ-pipe.  Another  was 
erected  in  honor  of  the  Americans  killed  near 
the  city  in  1814,  in  the  war  against  the  Eng 
lish.  The  cathedral  so  much  talked  of  is 
abominable.  It  is  a  mosque,  with  a  dome  like 
a  rotunda,  and  with  hideous  minarets,  built 
half  of  granite  and  half  of  brick,  forming  the 
ensemble  of  a.  plat  inontt.  The  architecture  in 
the  United  States  is  detestable. 

Just  now  financial  disasters  are  at  their 
height  in  Baltimore.  Men  who  were  rich  yes 
terday  are  beggars  to-day  !  This  town  is  the 
seat  of  an  archbishopric.  There  is  also  here  a 
Sulpician  seminary  and  a  convent  of  the  Visi 
tation.  After  having  paid  my  visit  to  the 
archbishop,  I  visited  the  seminary.  This  pro 
ceeding,  of  which  I  spoke  to  M.  de  Menou, 
astonished  him.  He  said  that  it  would  pro 
duce  a  very  good  effect.  I  replied  that  it  was 


54        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

not  done  with  that  intention,  but  to  gratify 
myself.  This  increased  his  astonishment. 

The  State  of  Maryland,  in  which  I  am  now, 
is  a  slave  State ;  consequently  the  negroes  are 
more  numerous  here  and  more  polite  than  in 
those  States  where  slavery  has  been  abolished. 
I  can  scarcely  accustom  myself  to  their  black 
and  oily  faces.  They  inspire  me  with  a  repul 
sion,  perhaps  unjust,  but  unconquerable. 

I  saw  yesterday  a  very  curious  animal  which 
is  called  the  sloth :  it  is  something  between 
the  cat  and  the  monkey,  and  therefore  not 
handsome.  He  climbs  a  tree  and  eats  the 
leaves,  then  lets  himself  fall  to  the  ground 
from  pure  laziness,  where  he  remains  in  a 
state  of  torpor  until  he  is  roused  again  by 
hunger.  The  one  I  saw  seemed  very  cross  at 
being  chained.  I  see  here  magnificent  trees 
that  in  Europe  would  be  but  miserable  shrubs 
— such  as  the  catalpa,  the  sugar-maple,  the  rho 
dodendron,  etc.,  etc. 

If  it  were  not  for  my  bad  health  I  should 
take  a  much  stronger  interest  in  all  these 
things,  so  new  to  me ;  but  suffering  gives  a 
discolored  view  to  everything,  and  I  feel  as 
cross  as  the  "  sloth,"  and  kept  back,  like  him, 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.         55 

by  a  chain  the  weight  of  which   overpowers 
me. 

The  prices  in  the  hotels  everywhere  in 
America  are  exorbitant.  Although  living 
moderately,  I  cannot  manage  to  spend  less 
than  twenty  dollars  a  day. 


XVI. 

BALTIMORE,  June  30,  1840. 

I  HAVE  just  returned  from  a  visit  to  the 
archbishop,  who  received  me  very  well  ;  he 
is  a  handsome  man,  of  forty  years  of  age  at 
most,  who  has  the  best  manners  I  have  yet 
seen  in  an  American.  An  old  Sulpician,  he 
passed,  ten  years  ago,  two  years  at  Issy,  near 
Paris ;  he  speaks  French  very  well,  and  in 
quired  with  much  interest  about  the  Christian 
end  of  M.  de  Talleyrand's  life,  which  until 
now  he  appears  not  to  have  credited.  But  he 
was  delighted  with  what  I  told  him  of  it,  and 
begged  me  to  repeat  it  to  the  director  of  his 
seminary,  whom  I  am  to  visit  this  evening, 
and  who,  it  seems,  attaches  a  great  importance 
to  this  affair.  We  also  spoke  of  M.  de  For- 


$6        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

bin-Janson,  who  has  been  in  the  United  States 
for  the  last  eight  months.  I  profited  by  this 
occasion  to  beg  the  archbishop  to  prevail 
upon  M.  de  Janson  to  speak  more  moderately 
about  France  and  its  present  Government,  for 
I  have  heard  that  in  New  York  and  in  New 
Orleans  he  had  expressed  himself  in  the 
pulpit  in  the  most  violent  manner  against  us, 
accusing  us  of  being  atheists.  The  arch 
bishop  took  what  I  said  in  good  part,  and 
replied,  "  M.  de  Janson  is  a  man  of  intelli 
gence,  but  too  ardent ;  he  is  wrong  in  intro 
ducing  politics  in  his  sermons  :  I  always  avoid 
it,  even  in  this  country,  where  priests  have  a 
right  to  say  what  they  please.  Although  born 
in  America  and  as  good  a  republican  as  any 
one,  I  do  not  vote,  and  never  try  to  influence 
my  parishioners  as  to  how  they  shall  vote ; 
it  would  only  be  in  case  the  liberty  of  my 
religion  was  threatened  that  I  should  assert  my 
right  as  an  American  citizen.  I  have  already 
requested  M.  de  Forbin-Janson  to  be  more 
moderate,  but  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that 
he  should  sometimes  wander  from  his  sub 
ject,  for  he  preaches  too  much.  Just  imagine  ! 
— he  has  preached  two  hundred  times  in  four 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT.         $? 

months.  He  is  very  wrong  in  attacking  the 
King  of  the  French.  This  sovereign  has 
shown  himself  favorable  to  religion,  and  since 
he  commenced  his  reign  has  made  none  but 
excellent  choice  of  bishops,  etc.,  etc." 

The  archbishop  spoke  also  of  the  pro 
gress  of  Catholicism  in  America,  and  even 
in  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  where  thirty 
years  ago  there  were  not  ten  Catholic  fami 
lies:  now  there  are  forty  Catholic  churches 
and  a  bishop  at  Boston,  the  most  puri 
tanical  city  in  the  United  States.  There 
are  numerous  conversions  everywhere,  and 
almost  all  the  Irish  and  German  emigrants 
are  Catholic.  This  progress  has  been  ap 
parent  in  New  England  also,  where  the  Pro 
testants  are  so  ardently  zealous.  There  are 
in  the  United  States  fourteen  bishops,  and 
they  talk  of  creating  two  new  seats;  the 
Catholic  population  will  soon  reach  a  million. 
The  increased  number  of  bishops  and  the 
building  of  churches  are  facts  more  remark 
able  because  the  revenues  of  the  clergy  and 
the  church  are  covered  by  subscriptions  and 
the  rent  of  the  seats  in  the  churches. 

The   archbishop   took    me    into    his   cathe- 


$8        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

dral,  the  interior  of  which  is  in  as  bad  taste  as 
the  exterior;  but  he  is  very  proud  of  this 
monument,  which  has  cost  the  Catholics  a 
great  deal  of  money. 

I    have   just   returned,  roasted    and    boiled. 
Ah,  what  heat  under  "  this  beautiful  sky" ! 


XVII. 

WASHINGTON  CITY,  July  2,  1840. 

THIS  time,  I  write  to  you  from  my  capital — 
or  I  should  say  better  from  my  penitentiary. 

The  day  before  yesterday,  before  leaving 
Baltimore,  I  went  with  the  Count  de  Menou 
to  visit  the  Seminary  of  Saint-Sulpice,  which 
is  composed  of  ten  priests,  five  of  whom  are 
French,  and  thirteen  pupils.  The  college, 
which  adjoins  it  and  is  under  the  direction  of 
the  same  priests,  has  three  hundred  pupils, 
one  half  of  whom  are  Protestants.  The  Abbe 
Chauch,  who  is  the  head  of  the  college,  was 
born  in  Baltimore.  He  is  a  distinguished  man 
in  his  conversation  and  manners.  The  semi 
nary  was  founded  in  1791  by  five  French 
Sulpicians  who  came  to  the  United  States  to 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.         59 

escape  persecution  ;  they  have  had  to  contend 
against  a  thousand  difficulties,  which  they  have 
overcome  with  great  courage,  and  later  were 
able  to  found  the  college  which  is  more  pros 
perous  than  the  seminary,  for  which  they 
could  only  get  recruits  from  foreigners. 
Americans  have  little  taste  for  a  life  of  medi 
tation  :  their  feverish  activity  ill  fits  them  for  a 
uniform  and  peaceful  life. 

The  principal  of  the  seminary  is  the  Abbe" 
Delnot ;  born  in  the  Vivarais,  he  came  here 
twenty-five  years  ago.  Although  less  distin 
guished  than  the  Abbe"  Chauch,  I  think  he 
is,  notwithstanding  his  common  appearance, 
an  able  man.  He  was  very  much  interested 
in  the  Christian  death  of  M.  de  Talleyrand ;  he 
had  already  been  informed  of  what  I  had  said 
on  the  subject  to  Monseigneur  Eccleston  in  the 
morning  ;  it  delighted  him.  He  spoke  with 
much  feeling  of  the  Saint-Sulpice  in  Paris, 
of  the  Abb£  Gamier,  of  M.  Emmery,  etc.  .  .  . 
These  good  priests  showed  me  every  detail 
of  their  seminary,  the  college,  and  their  little 
chapel  in  the  Gothic  style,  which  is  far  better 
than  the  cathedral.  They  related  to  me  a 
very  singular  fact  concerning  the  establish- 


60        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

ment  of  Catholic  bishoprics  in  the  United 
States :  the  promoter  of  the  foundation  of  the 
first  seat  was  Jefferson,  who  was  said  to  be  an 
unbeliever  in  any  religion.  Observing  the 
tendency  of  the  American  Catholics  to  follow 
the  English  Catholic  Church,  even  after  their 
separation  from  the  mother  Church,  he 
thought  this  might  produce  trouble,  and 
whilst  Minister  at  Paris  in  1789,  having  in 
duced  the  American  Government  to  adopt  his 
views,  he  was  authorized  to  negotiate  with 
the  Papal  Nuncio  and  obtained  the  creation  of 
a  bishopric  at  Baltimore ;  which  thus  became 
the  head  of  the  Church  in  the  United  States, 
and  will  soon  have  fifteen  assistant  bishops. 

M.  de  Menou  says  that  the  bishop  was 
much  pleased  with  my  visit.  He  took  it  for 
granted  that  I  acted  in  my  official  capacity, 
and  from  instructions  given  by  the  king :  I 
begged  M.  de  Menou  to  assure  him  that  I  had 
acted  entirely  from  personal  feeling. 

I  left  Baltimore  yesterday,  and  the  railroad 
brought  us  to  Washington  in  two  hours  and 
a  half,  through  a  beautiful  wooded  country, 
more  thickly  inhabited  than  any  I  have  seen 
yet.  M.  Pageot  and  the  Count  de  Mon- 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.        6 1 

tliolon,  my  paid  attache",  met  me  and  took  me 
to  Gadsby's  Hotel,  where  I  am  installed  for  a 
fortnight.  M.  Pageot  has  written  to  the 
Secretary  of  State  to  ask  him  when  he  would 
wish  to  receive  me.  One  hour  afterward  he 
received  a  reply  from  M.  Forsyth  saying  he 
would  see  me  to-day  at  noon.  I  shall 
then  know  on  what  day  I  can  present  my 
letters  of  credit  to  the  President.  I  invited 
these  gentlemen  to  dine  with  me.  M.  Mon- 
tholon  has  very  simple  manners,  quiet  and 
polished,  and  talks  very  sensibly ;  he  is  even 
thinner  than  I  am.  My  predecessor,  M.  Pon- 
tois,  has  an  idea  that  M.  de  Montholon's  title 
of  Count  places  him  (Pontois)  in  an  inferior 
position  in  the  eyes  of  the  Americans,  so  im 
pressed  are  they  by  titles. 

As  I  was  going  out  with  these  gentlemen  I 
met  at  the  door  the  Baron  de  Mareschall,  the 
Austrian  Minister,  who  had  very  kindly  come 
to  see  me,  although  it  was  not  his  place  to 
make  the  first  visit  :  he  invited  me  and  all  my 
Legation  to  dine  with  him  to-day.  He  re 
membered  having  met  me  two  years  ago  at 
the  Princess  of  Schonbourg's  house,  who  had 
been  kind  enough,  as  also  had  the  Countess 


62         RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

Appony,  to  write  very  amiably  about  me ; 
consequently  he  expressed  frankly  a  wish  to 
establish  intimate  relations  between  us.  He  is 
said  to  be  the  most  distinguished  man  of  the 
Diplomatic  Corps ;  he  appears  to  be  about 
fifty  years  of  age,  and  has  seen  a  great  deal  of 
service  in  the  army  and  in  diplomacy ;  he 
was  born  in  the  Duchy  of  Luxembourg  when 
that  country  was  Austrian.  We  visited  the 
town,  which  is  really  composed  of  but  one 
street,  called  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  which  runs 
from  east  to  west,  it  is  three  miles  long:  at 
one  end  is  the  Capitol,  the  most  beautiful 
building  in  the  United  States;  at  the  other  is 
the  President's  House,  surrounded  by  all  the 
public  offices.  The  avenue  is  crossed  by 
streets  at  right  angles,  in  each  of  which  are  only 
five  or  six  houses ;  there  are  other  streets  radi 
ating  toward  the  President's  House,  but  not 
much  more  built  upon  than  the  cross  streets  ; 
so  that  on  all  sides  you  can  reach  the  open 
country  in  five  hundred  steps.  The  avenue  is 
half  as  large  again  as  the  Rue  de  la  Paix  ;  it  is 
planted  with  trees,  and  adorned  with  brick 
sidewalks ;  the  middle,  macadamized,  and 
never  being  watered,  is  in  summer  a  terrible 
mass  of  dust  and  in  winter  a  common  sewer. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.        63 

The  other  streets  are  not  paved,  but  have  side 
walks.  The  appearance  of  the  city  is  quite 
pretty  at  this  season  on  account  of  the  ver 
dure,  but  when  the  trees  have  lost  their  leaves 
it  must  be  even  more  gloomy  than  Carlsruhe. 
The  houses  have  but  one  story  above  the 
ground-floor,  are  all  of  red  brick,  and  have  a 
mean  appearance  ;  they  are  too  much  spread 
out  for  their  twenty-five  thousand  inhabitants. 


XVIII. 

WASHINGTON,  July  3,  1840. 

IT  is  very  difficult  to  find  a  house  in  this 
charming  country:  the  finished  houses  are 
either  occupied  by  their  owners,  or  by  tenants 
who  have  engaged  them  some  time  before,  and 
take  possession  as  soon  as  the  builders  have 
left.  The  home  of  my  predecessor  does  not 
suit  me  at  all :  there  are  no  furniture-dealers, 
and  I  can  neither  buy  furniture  nor  rent  it,  so 
that  I  shall  have  to  be  contented  with  living  in 
a  furnished  house,  and  have  my  meals  brought 
to  me.  There  are  two  Frenchmen  here  who 
furnish  lodging  and  board  to  families  without 


64        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

a  home,  or  to  a  poor  devil  like  myself,  who 
does  not  know  where  to  stow  himself.  One  of 
these  men  has  a  good  house,  but  having  made 
his  fortune,  is  insolent,  negligent,  and  dirty. 
The  house  of  the  other  is  small  and  badly  fur 
nished  ;  but  as  he  has  his  fortune  to  make,  and 
I  shall  have  the  pleasure  of  contributing  to  it, 
he  will  perhaps  be  docile  and  attentive.  I  am 
in  favor  of  this  latter,  whose  name  is  Galbrun. 
I  made  an  arrangement  with  a  livery-stable 
keeper  to  furnish  me  with  a  carriage  and 
horses ;  the  bargain  was  completed,  but  this 
morning  he  came  to  tell  me  that  I  must  not 
count  on  him  unless  I  paid  him  one  third 
more  than  the  price  agreed  upon.  In  this 
country  they  take  back  their  word  without 
ceremony ;  no  contract  is  respected  unless  it  is 
signed. 

We  went  yesterday  with  M.  Pageot  to  Mr. 
Forsyth's,  the  Palmerston  of  this  country, 
who  has  the  reputation  of  being  very  stiff,  im, 
polite,  and  cynical  ;  however,  he  received  me 
very  well,  and  tried  to  overcome  the  coldness 
of  his  naturally  unamiable  manner ;  but  it  was 
evident  that  it  was  an  effort.  After  having 
paid  a  visit  to  M.  Vail,  whom  you  knew  in 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMA  7\        65 

London,  and  who  is  about  to  leave  here  for 
Madrid,  I  went  to  dine  with  Baron  Mareschall, 
who  had  invited  to  meet  me  Mr.  Forsyth, 
Secretary  of  State ; — Mr.  Fox,  the  English 
Minister,  who  is  an  oddity.  He  has  a  great 
deal  of  wit,  but  affects  great  eccentricity  ;  al 
though  young,  he  appears  from  his  dress  and 
carriage  to  be  at  least  fifty  years  old  ; — the 
Minister  of  Russia,  M.  Bodisco,  who  is  quite  a 
character.  I  knew  him  in  Stockholm.  Just  the 
reverse  of  Mr.  Fox,  he  tries  to  appear  young : 
eighteen  years  ago  I  left  him  with  gray  hair; 
and  I  find  him  with  black  curly  hair,  and  whis 
kers  and  mustache  dyed  ;  at  sixty  years  of  age 
he  has  just  married  an  American  girl  of  six 
teen  !  Great  good  may  it  do  him  !  He  is  in 
fact  ridiculous,  vulgar,  and  disgusting.  I  was 
told  that  he  was  in  great  fear  of  me,  which 
does  not  astonish  me,  for  he  knows  that  I  am 
well  acquainted  with  his  antecedents ; — M. 
Martini,  Minister  from  Holland,  an  inoffensive 
man,  and  very  indifferent ; — and  last,  M.  Vail 
and  my  Legation.  After  dinner  we  played 
whist.  At  the  hotel  I  found  a  letter  announc 
ing  that  the  President  would  receive  me  to 
morrow  at  two  o'clock. 


66        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 


XIX. 

WASHINGTON,  July  4,  1840. 

TO-DAY  is  the  great  National  holiday — the 
anniversary  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ 
ence,  sixty-four  years  ago.  It  is  celebrated  in 
every  part  of  America,  if  not  with  suitable 
splendor,  at  least  with  a  prodigious  noise  ;  they 
say  that  it  is  not  safe  to  be  in  New  York  to 
day,  but  here  it  is  less  noisy,  and  without 
danger. 

I  went  to  see  the  President  yesterday  before 
two  o'clock  in  the  house  which  is  called  Execu 
tion  Mansion,  a  pretty  palace,  surrounded  by  a 
garden  in  English  style  and  an  iron  fence  ;  the 
rooms  are  large  and  well  decorated.  The 
Secretary  of  State,  who  ought  to  have  pre 
sented  me,  had  not  arrived  ;  few  minutes  after 
my  arrival  I  saw  Mr.  Van  Buren  enter.  I 
scarcely  recognized  him,  he  had  grown  so  fat. 
He  wore  a  plain  black  coat  and  gray  trousers 
and  boots;  this  entirely  consoled  me  for  not 
having  my  uniform,  which  has  not  yet  arrived. 

After  the  ceremony  of  reception,  Mr.  Van 
Buren  took  me  by  the  hand  and  led  me  to  a 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT.        6? 

sofa  ;  he  said  he  was  delighted  to  see  me,  and 
had  not  forgotten  our  meeting  in  London. 
He  asked  very  particularly  about  you,  and 
questioned  me  in  the  kindliest  manner  about 
the  death  of  M.  de  Talleyrand.  The  audience 
was  very  long,  and  Mr.  Van  Buren  spoke  in 
the  most  charming  manner  of  the  king  and  of 
France,  etc.  ...  M.  Pageot,  who  was  present, 
said  that  during  the  ten  years  he  had  been 
here  he  had  never  seen  so  cordial  a  reception.  I 
have  left  cards  on  all  the  members  of  Congress. 
The  election  for  President  will  take  place  in 
five  months  ;  they  say  that  the  election  of  Mr. 
Van  Buren  would  be  a  calamity  to  the  coun 
try,  because  he  is  the  chief  of  an  ultra-Demo 
cratic  Party.  I  forgot  to  tell  you  that  Mr. 
Van  Buren  is  called  the  American  Talley 
rand.  This  must  flatter  him,  for  in  talking  to 
me  of  the  dear  Prince  he  repeated  at  least  ten 
times  wonderful  man.  Mr.  Van  Buren  is  ac 
knowledged  to  be  a  very  able  man,  but  more 
in  what  concerns  his  personal  affairs  than  in 
the  direction  of  the  affairs  of  the  country. 


68        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMA  T. 


XX. 

WASHINGTON,  July  5,  1840. 

I  HAVE  concluded  my  arrangements  with 
Galbrun,  who  boasts  of  having  worked  for  two 
years  in  the  kitchen  of  M.  de  Talleyrand,  un 
der  the  superintendence  of  Louis  Esbrat ;  he 
engages,  in  renting  me  the  house,  to  furnish 
food,  heat,  light,  etc.  .  .  ,  for  M.  de  la  Fosse, 
myself,  and  all  my  servants,  for  three  hundred 
dollars  a  month ;  this  arrangement  is  not  en 
tirely  satisfactory,  but  I  shall  be  free  from  the 
troubles  of  keeping  house;  I  cannot  take  po- 
session  for  three  months  yet;  until  then  I 
must  put  up  with  hotel  life. 

I  paid  about  forty  visits  with  M.  Pageot  to 
the  Diplomatic  Corps  and  to  some  of  the  Sen 
ators,  on  whom,  according  to  custom  here,  the 
foreign  Ministers  must  call  first.  I  only  found 
M.  Martini  and  M.  Bodisco,  who  live  in 
Georgetown,  a  small  town  forming  part  of 
Washington,  but  two  miles  distant  from  it. 
I  have  also  seen  Mr.  Clay,  a  Senator  and  head 
of  the  opposition  party,  the  great  orator  of 
the  country ;  his  proclivities  are  very  French. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.        69 

I  was  not  able,  in  an  interview  of  only  a  few 
minutes,  to  form  any  opinion,  except  from  his 
exterior,  which  is  that  of  an  English  farmer. 
He  received  me  cordially,  and  invited  me  to 
pay  him  a  visit  some  time  in  the  summer,  at 
his  country  place  in  Kentucky,  six  hundred 
miles  from  here. 

I  have  been  at  an  evening  party  at  Mr. 
Paulding's:  I  only  stayed  half  an  hour,  but 
this  half -hour  sufficed  for  ten  or  twelve 
introductivcs — the  most  tedious  drudgeries  of 
a  Minister's  d6but.  One  must  endeavor  to 
recollect  the  faces  and  the  names,  then  to  put 
the  names  on  the  faces;  it  keeps  one's  mind 
constantly  occupied  by  the  fear  of  mistakes. 
I  saw  Madame  Bodisco,  who  has  the  beauty 
of  youth  and  a  silly  manner.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Paulding,  the  master  and  mistress  of  the 
house,  are  old  people,  perfectly  insignificant, 
and  the  rest  of  the  company  appeared  exactly 
like  the  society  one  meets  in  every  town  in 
America — English  people  of  second  and  third 
rate.  I  may  find  my  first  impression  incor 
rect,  when  I  have  talked  more  with  some  dis 
tinguished  persons  and  become  more  intimate. 

The  little  Catholic  Church,  of  which  I  am  a 


70        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

parishioner,  is  neat  and  well  kept;  the  Mass 
which  I  attended,  although  Low  Mass,  lasted 
more  than  an  hour  on  account  of  a  short  ser 
mon  and  of  the  great  number  of  communi 
cants,  the  half  of  whom  at  least  were  negroes 
and  negresses.  The  French  Legation  has  a 
pew,  for  which  it  pays  yearly ;  eight  days  be 
fore  my  arrival,  the  cure  sent  to  M.  Pageot  for 
the  rent  due,  and  a  message  by  the  beadle  to 
say  that  the  pew  would  be  of  no  use  to  me  as 
I  was  a  Protestant ;  they  read  that  in  a  news 
paper.  On  this  authority  M.  Pageot  believed 
it  to  be  so,  and  told  several  persons.  You  see 
that  news  false  or  true  is  spread  in  the  same 
way  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  This  re 
minds  me  to  tell  you  that  M.  de  la  Fosse  is  a 
Calvinist ;  but  we  shall  never  dispute  about 
religion. 

In  the  middle  of  the  day  the  heat  is  over 
powering,  but  the  nights  and  mornings  cold. 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 


XXI. 

I  HAVE  continued  my  visits  to  the  members 
of  the  Senate ;  I  saw  Mr.  Benton,  who  is  a 
violent  Democrat,  one  of  the  principal  up 
holders  of  the  Administration,  and  a  particular 
friend  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  ;  they  say  he  is  well- 
informed,  eloquent,  and  clever;  he  is  Senator 
from  the  State  of  Missouri,  which  was  formed 
from  part  of  Louisiana,  the  population  is 
partly  French ;  his  home  is  near  St.  Louis, 
where  he  passes  his  vacations,  at  a  thousand 
miles  from  here — a  mere  nothing!  He  talked 
a  great  deal  about  the  moral  and  religious 
state  of  the  old  population  of  Louisiana,  who 
appear  to  have  pursued  a  course  the  reverse  of 
that  of  Canada,  where  they  are  incrusted  with 
the  manners  and  customs  of  sixty  years  ago ; 
in  Louisiana,  on  the  contrary,  the  people  have 
become  quick  and  intelligent  in  mixing  with 
the  Anglo-Americans ;  they  are  richer,  more 
moral  and  honest,  and  rival  them  in  activity. 
Mr.  Benton  also  says  that  in  all  the  new  States 
in  the  West  there  is  a  large  number  of  Protes 
tants  who  have  been  converted  to  the  Catholic 


72         RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

Church,  on  account  of  the  doubts  caused  by 
the  infinite  number  of  Protestant  sects. 
Young  Protestants  are  educated  in  Catholic 
schools ;  their  parents  confide  them  with  a 
feeling  of  perfect  security  to  the  integrity 
and  enlightenment  of  the  Catholic  clergy  of 
America. 

I  have  visited  the  city  more  thoroughly ; 
the  exterior  of  the  President's  house  is  the 
best  I  have  seen  •  in  America ;  this  pretty 
palace  has  a  circular  front  supported  by 
columns  opening  on  the  garden  and  on  the 
country.  From  there  you  have  an  extended 
view  of  the  course  of  the  Potomac ;  the  pleas 
ure-ground  is  well  laid  out,  kept  in  good  order, 
and  open  to  the  public ;  it  is  a  handsome  place, 
and  from  it  very  little  can  be  seen  of  the  so- 
called  city  of  Washington,  which  is  neither 
city  nor  village  :  it  is  a  collection  of  houses  put 
anywhere  and  everywhere  with  no  regularity; 
it  has  a  miserable,  desolate  look,  even  with 
the  foliage ;  what  must  it  be  when  covered 
with  snow  and  ice ! 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.         73 


XXII. 

WASHINGTON,  July  7,  1840. 

As  I  advance  I  find  my  troubles  and  vexa 
tion  increase  without  the  least  compensation. 
Later,  when  I  am  more  accustomed  to  the 
habits  and  manners  of  the  country,  I  shall  be 
able  to  give  you  an  account  of  my  observa 
tions,  but  at  present  I  fear  my  judgment 
would  be  too  hasty.  I  do  not  wish  to  imitate 
some  of  my  compatriots,  who  at  the  end  of 
eight  days  had  judged  everything,  and  habitu 
ally  condemned  all  they  saw. 

This  is  the  forty-fifth  day  since  the  packet- 
boat  left  Havre  with  all  my  baggage  on  board, 
and  I  hear  nothing  of  her.  It  seems  that  ex 
cept  in  spring,  and  sometimes  autumn,  when 
the  winds  are  favorable,  no  one  can  count  with 
any  certainty  upon  the  duration  of  a  voyage 
of  a  sailing-vessel. 

M.  Pageot  is  so  much  wounded  by  the  neg 
lect  with  which  he  has  been  treated  in  leaving 
him  here  to  languish  without  the  slightest 
acknowledgment  of  his  services,  that  he  has 
decided  to  send  in  his  resignation,  expressed 


74        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

in  rather  sharp  terms.  I  advised  him  very 
strongly  not  to  do  so,  and  tried  to  soothe  him  ; 
but  in  vain.  I  appreciate  his  ability  and  his 
services ;  no  one  knows  the  country  better ; 
his  correspondence  is  excellent,  and  he  has 
been  successful  in  his  treatment  of  some  very 
difficult  questions;  but  for  all  that  he  has  not 
been  able  to  obtain  justice.  One  must  have 
good  luck  to  succeed :  sometimes  bad  luck 
may,  as  mine  in  sending  me  here. 

I  have  been  to  a  meeting  of  Congress.  The 
Capitol,  where  they  hold  these  meetings,  is  a 
beautiful  edifice  situated  on  a  height ;  it  com 
mands  a  very  extended  view  of  the  pretty  val 
ley  of  the  Potomac.  This  building  is  divided 
into  three  distinct  parts:  in  the  centre  is  a 
rotunda  with  a  glazed  cupola  to  give  light  to 
the  interior;  the  principal  entrance  leads  di 
rectly  into  this  rotunda,  the  proportions  of 
which  are  beautiful.  Opposite  the  entrance 
door  is  the  library;  on  the  right  the  Senate 
Chamber;  on  the  left  that  of  the  Representa 
tives.  The  distribution  of  the  two  halls  is  the 
same  as  tha"t  of  our  Chamber  of  Deputies,  only 
smaller;  the  ornamentation  is  simple,  and  in 
good  taste.  In  the  Senate  Chamber  there  is 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT.         75 

only  one  portrait — that  of  General  Washing 
ton ;  in  the  other  Chamber  you  also  find  one 
of  Washington,  but  with  one  of  La  Fayette  as 
a  pendant.  Whatever  may  have  been  the 
wrongs  attributed  to  La  Fayette,  his  portrait 
hung  in  the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Representa 
tives  is  undoubtedly  an  honorable  tribute  to  his 
memory. 

In  the  Rotunda  there  are  twelve  framed 
spaces  ready  for  pictures,  but  as  yet  four  only 
are  filled.  The  first  painting  represents  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  in  1776;  the 
second,  the  defeat  at  Saratoga  in  1777,  where 
the  English  General  Burgoyne  gave  up  his 
sword  to  General  Washington ;  the  third,  a 
review  after  the  victory  of  Yorktown :  the 
French  and  American  troops  occupy  the  two 
sides  of  the  picture — the  French  with  their 
white  cockades  and  their  white  flag,  with  Mar 
shal  Rocharnbeau  at  their  head  ;  the  Ameri 
cans  commanded  by  M.  de  La  Fayette ;  in  the 
centre  is  General  Washington  :  the  fourth  and 
last  represents  the  meeting  of  Congress,  at 
which  General  Washington  resigns  the  com 
mand  of  the  army.  As  paintings,  these  tab 
leaux  are  neither  better  nor  worse  than  those 


76        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMA  T. 

we  saw  on  our  visit  to  Versailles  three  months 
ago. 

The  two  Houses  were  in  session  :  the  Senate, 
which  is  composed  of  fifty-two  members,  con 
duct  themselves  with  great  propriety.  I  can 
not  say  as  much  for  the  House  of  Representa 
tives.  I  do  not  speak  of  the  custom,  imported 
from  England,  of  keeping  their  hats  on,  but 
many  of  the  members  sit  with  their  legs  in  the 
air,  and  others,  stretched  out,  sleep  as  if  they 
were  in  their  beds.  What  shocked  me  most 
was  the  sound  of  continual  spitting  :  this  filthy 
habit  is  common  to  both  Houses,  as  well  as  to 
every  man  in  the  country  ;  they  all  spit — every 
where  and  on  anything.  This  is  the  conse 
quence  of  the  villainous  habit  of  chewing  to 
bacco  ;  the  President  is  the  only  one  I  have 
seen  who  is  exempt  from  this  vice.  They  say 
that  there  are  several  distinguished  orators  in 
the  Senate ;  none  of  them  spoke  yesterday, 
but  I  shall  hear  them  next  winter,  for  it  seems 
that  the  sessions  of  Congress  are  the  great 
and  only  attraction  here. 

In  the  Senate  Chamber  I  was  introduced  to 
Mr.  Buchanan,  formerly  American  Minister  to 
Russia,  who  remembers  having  dined  at  London 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT.        77 

with  Prince  Talleyrand,  you,  and  myself,  at  the 
Princess  Lieven's.  I  also  made  the  acquaint 
ance  of  my  colleague  the  Minister  of  Prussia, 
M.  de  Roiin,  who  arrived  only  two  days  ago. 
He  spoke  very  amiably  of  having  received  a 
dispatch  from  M.  de  Werther,  who  congratu 
lated  him  on  the  prospect  of  meeting  me,  and 
added  that  I  had  left  many  regrets  at  Carls- 
ruhe ;  I  thoroughly  reciprocate  this  sentiment. 

The  library  at  the  Capitol,  which  contains 
twenty  thousand  volumes,  is  at  the  disposition 
of  the  Diplomatic  Corps. 

I  met  M.  de  Mareschall  in  the  street.  The 
more  I  see  of  him  the  less  I  like  him  :  he  is  a 
great  gossip  and  sneers  at  everything ;  this  is 
perhaps  the  effect  of  his  long  stay  here,  and 
makes  me  tremble  for  myself. 


78        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 


XXIII. 

WASHINGTON,  July  n,  1840. 

I  PAID  a  visit  to  my  cure  yesterday.  He  is 
American  by  birth,  but  brought  up  in  Liege ; 
he  returned  to  America  during  the  French 
Revolution.  He  came  to  Washington,  which 
was  being  built,  and,  thinking  that  it  would 
become  a  city  of  importance,  bought  a  large 
tract  of  land ;  during  the  last  thirty-five  years, 
by  the  aid  of  subscriptions  from  Catholics, 
he  has  erected  on  this  land  a  pretty  church,  a 
presbytery,  a  small  hospital  where  the  Sisters 
of  Charity  take  care  of  the  sick,  and  a  school 
where  fifty  poor  children  are  educated  gra 
tuitously.  The  Abbe  Matteus  seems  to  me 
to  be  a  good  honest  man,  distinguished  only 
for  his  charity — perhaps  the  highest  of  all 
distinctions.  He  told  me  that  there  were 
now  in  Washington  three  churches  and  more 
*han  six  thousand  Catholics ;  that  is,  one  third 
of  the  whole  population. 

I  dined  with  the  President  this  evening. 
We  sat  down  at  seven  o'clock,  and  left  the 
table  at  ten  !  It  was  hard  work.  As  the  din- 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT.         7$ 

ner  was  given  to  me,  I  had  the  place  of  honor, 
although  the  whole  Diplomatic  Corps  were 
present ;  it  is  a  compliment  always  paid  here 
to  the  last  comer.  When  dinner  was  an 
nounced  the  President  took  my  arm  and 
escorted  me  to  the  dining-room,  a  handsome 
room  and  well  decorated,  and  placed  me  on 
his  right.  The  table  with  forty  covers  would 
have  sufficed  for  a  hundred  guests.  The 
service,  for  America,  was  elegant,  and  the 
dinner  good.  The  French  cook  told  my 
footman  a  curious  fact.  He  said  :  "  For  sev 
eral  months,  during  which  the  question  of  the 
re-election  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  has  been  agi 
tated,  people  had  come  constantly  to  see  him, 
and  in  the  rudest  manner  insisted  upon  be 
ing  asked  to  breakfast  or  dinner,  threatening 
in  case  of  refusal  to  vote  against  him.  The 
cook  says  that  he  has  the  greatest  difficulty  in 
satisfying  them ;  that  they  often  send  back 
what  he  serves  them,  and  order  other  dishes  on 
the  pretext  that  the  first  were  bad/'  So,  said 
my  servant  gravely,  "  It  seems  that  it  is  not 
very  pleasant  to  be  President !" 

Mr.    Van    Buren    has   been   very   kind    and 
polite  to  me ;  he  told  me  that  he  was  always 


8O         RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

at  home  in  the  evening,  and  would  be  de 
lighted  to  see  me  often.  He  is  a  widower, 
with  four  sons :  the  oldest  is  married  ;  his  wife 
is  at  a  watering-place.  Mr.  Van  Buren,  the 
son  of  an  innkeeper,  and  himself,  even,  trained 
to  the  family  calling,  has  acquired  to  an  as 
tonishing  degree  the  ways  of  the  world ;  he 
is  a  man  of  polished  manners,  and  has  a  cer 
tain  ease  which  gives  him  a  superiority,  as  a 
man  of  the  world,  over  any  of  his  compatriots 
whom  I  have  yet  seen. 

There  were  at  this  dinner,  besides  the 
Diplomatic  Corps,  the  Cabinet,  the  heads  of 
the  Administration,  and  several  Senators  of 
the  Opposition,  amongst  others  Mr.  Clay,  who 
is  the  leader.  I  made  the  acquaintance  of 
Mr.  Woodbury,  Secretary  of  the  Navy— 
insignificant ;  and  that  of  Mr.  Poinsett,  Sec 
retary  of  War,  who  pleased  me  tolerably 
well :  he  knows  Europe,  and  speaks  French 
well.  I  prefer  him  infinitely  to  Mr.  Forsyth, 
who,  it  is  said,  treats  everything  as  a  joke, 
and  is  not  pleasant  to  deal  with. 

The  evening  was  magnificent,  and  the  scene 
before  the  President's  House,  with  the  silver 
light  of  the  moon  upon  it,  was  splendid.  The 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.         8 1 

sky  in  this  country   is   purer   than   any   ever 
seen  in  our  hemisphere. 


XXIV. 

WASHINGTON,  July  12,  1840. 

I  HAD  the  most  stupid  dinner  in  the  world  at 
M.  Bodisco's,  and  probably  presented  the  most 
ridiculous  figure.  Invited  at  seven  o'clock,  we 
sat  down  to  dinner  at  eight,  after  having  seen 
the  master  of  the  house  run  in  and  out  several 
times  as  though  he  was  preparing  this  execra 
ble  repast  which  he  had  the  goodness  to  offer 
us.  He  then  crowded  us,  thirty-six  in  number, 
into  a  very  small  dining-room,  where  we  suffo 
cated  until  eleven  o'clock.  I  was  seated  be 
tween  Mrs.  Forsyth,  who  talked  to  me  in  Eng 
lish,  and  her  daughter  Mrs.  Shaaff,  who  spoke 
French,  both  talking  at  the  same  time  !  I  was 
too  uncomfortable  to  speak  any  language. 
This  dinner  was  the  perfection  of  the  ridicu 
lous  :  the  table  loaded  with  china,  glass,  and 
bronzes  of  no  value  and  in  bad  taste,  spread 
out  for  ornament,  not  for  use.  The  guests 
laughed  at  their  host  in  the  most  open  manner, 


82        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

and  every  one  pitied  the  unhappy  child  who 
had  become  the  wife  of  this  villanous  old  man. 

Having  exhausted  all  the  reading  matter  I 
had  brought  with  me  from  Paris,  I  begged  M. 
de  Montholon  to  lend  me  a  book.  He  brought 
me  "Travels  in  America,"  by  M.  de  Chateau 
briand,  who  embarked  at  Saint-Malo  May  6, 
1791,  with  five  Sulpicians,  founders  of  the  es 
tablishment  which  I  visited  lately.  The  work 
is  not  worth  much  as  an  account  of  his  journey; 
and  I  agree  with  M.  de  Tocqueville,  who  said 
to  me  that  M.  de  Chateaubriand  had  not  seen 
all  the  places  he  wrote  about — particularly  the 
Mississippi,  which  he  has  pictured  as  superb. 

I  called  on  M.  Miollet,  but  did  not  find  him 
at  home.  He  is  the  man  on  whom  I  count 
most  here,  although  I  have  only  exchanged  a 
bow  with  him  in  the  street.  He  was  mathema 
tician  and  astronomer  at  the  Observatory  in 
Paris,  a  rival  of  M.  Arago.  He  left  France 
during  the  Revolution  of  July— some  said  on 
account  of  his  opinions,  others  thought  because 
he  had  lost  his  fortune ;  whatever  it  was,  he 
took  refuge  in  the  United  States,  where  he  has 
acquired  great  distinction.  He  has  done  impor 
tant  work  for  the  American  Government,  and 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT.         83 

no  one  knows  the  country  better  than  he  does. 
He  has  been  everywhere,  often  living  in  the 
woods  with  the  Indians.  They  say  it  is  very 
interesting  to  hear  him  talk.  So  much  for  the 
savant.  As  a  man  he  is  esteemed  even  more 
highly ;  modest,  simple,  and  obliging,  every  one 
aspires  to  gain  his  friendship ;  in  fact  he  has  a 
great  reputation,  and  is  exceptionally  esteemed. 

I  went  last  night  to  see  Fanny  Elssler  dance 
the  Tarentella  and  the  Cachucha ;  she  danced 
ravishingly,  and  was  applauded  with  frenzy. 

M.  de  la  Fosse  told  me  this  morning,  speak 
ing  of  M.  de  Chateaubriand,  that  he  had  seen  a 
very  curious  letter  of  this  great  genius,  in  his 
own  handwriting,  signed,  and  addressed  by  him 
to  M.  de  Talleyrand,  then  at  the  Congress  of 
Vienna,  consequently  written  between  the 
months  of  October,  1814,  and  March,  1815.  In 
this  tolerably  long  letter  M.  de  Chateaubriand 
complained  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Govern 
ment,  particularly  of  its  ingratitude  toward 
himself,  and  he  announced  his  intention  to 
enter  the  diplomatic  service  of  some  foreign 
power,  thinking  by  this  means  he  would  suc 
ceed  better  in  making  his  fortune.  A  very 
short  answer  from  M.  de  Talleyrand  in  his  own 


84         RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

handwriting  was  attached  to  this  letter — merely 
a  simple  acknowledgment  of  its  receipt,  and 
making  no  allusion  to  his  announced  intention 
of  entering  a  foreign  service.  M.  de  la  Fosse, 
who  had  come  across  these  letters  in  reading 
the  correspondence  of  the  Congress  of  Vienna 
when  he  was  attached  to  the  Ministry  of 
Foreign  Affairs  in  1835,  thought  M.  de  Chateau 
briand's  letter  so  extraordinary  that  he  showed 
it  to  several  of  his  young  colleagues,  and  after 
ward  took  it  to  M.  de  Viel-Castel,  who  had 
never  heard  of  it,  and  was  very  much  aston 
ished.  M.  de  Viel-Castel  had  the  custody  of 
the  portfolio  in  which  these  letters  were  kept. 
Some  days  afterward,  M.  de  la  Fosse,  while 
continuing  his  examination  of  the  documents 
contained  in  this  volume,  looked  for  the  letter, 
wishing  to  read  it  again :  it  had  disappeared. 
He  supposed  then,  and  still  thinks,  that  M.  de 
Viel-Castel  either  returned  the  letter  to  M.  de 
Chateaubriand,  with  whom  he  had  been  associ 
ated,  or  had  kept  it  for  himself  as  a  curious 
record. 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT.        85 


XXV. 

WASHINGTON,  July  17,  1840. 

I  DINED  yesterday  with  Mr.  Forsyth.  Pep 
per  sauces  seasoned  with  a  thousand  American 
perfumes  and  an  atrocious  heat !  The  usual 
hour  for  dinner  here  is  four  o'clock,  but  when 
any  one  is  invited  to  dinner  it  is  at  seven  by 
fashion !  The  service  is  so  very  slow  at  a 
dinner  of  ceremony,  on  account  of  an  insuffi 
cient  number  of  servants,  that  one  is  obliged 
to  remain  at  table  three  or  four  hours.  I  was 
in  the  place  of  honor  next  to  the  mistress  of 
the  house,  and  had  the  daughter-in-law  on  the 
other  side.  I  am  anxious  to  lose  my  position 
as  debutant,  that  I  may  be  able  to  feel  more 
at  my  ease,  at  some  obscure  corner  of  the  table. 

I  am  writing  to  you  at  last  from  home.  I 
I  am  very  uncomfortably  settled,  wanting 
many  necessary  things,  but  they  are  unknown 
here.  My  house  is  like  a  parrot's  perch ; 
they  are  all  built  on  the  same  plan,  both  in 
convenient  and  ugly ;  nevertheless  I  am  at 
home,  and  happy  to  be  for  the  present  free 
from  that  horrid  hotel  life. 


86        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

I  saw  Madame  de  Montholon  yesterday, 
who  has  just  recovered  from  a  confinement. 
Her  face,  which  is  rather  sweet  than  pretty,  is 
already  faded,  like  that  of  all  the  young  Amer 
ican  women,  and  she  is  not  twenty  years  old. 

I  went  also  to  see  the  President,  who  ap 
pears  troubled.  He  probably  has  bad  news 
in  regard  to  the  election.  M.  Pageot,  who 
leaves  Washington  to-day,  has  taken  his  leave 
of  him. 

Fanny  Elssler  came  to  see  me  while  I  was 
out.  She  continues  to  appear  here  every 
night,  and  is  received  with  the  same  furore. 

I  made  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Robinson, 
a  civil  engineer,  and  a  distinguished  man ;  he 
is  a  friend  of  Michel  Chevalier,  who  gave  me  a 
letter  for  him.  He  lives  in  Philadelphia. 

I  have  begun  to  put  the  books  of  the  Chan- 
cellerie  in  order.  They  have  been  kept  very 
badly,  and  I  wish  to  leave  the  archives  in  as 
good  order  as  those  I  left  in  London  and 
Carlsruhe. 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF   A    DIPLOMAT.         S/ 


XXVI. 

WASHINGTON,  July  18,  1840. 

I  HAVE  just  returned  from  a  visit  to  Fanny 
Elssler,  who  has  engaged  a  kind  of  duenna 
whom  she  could  dispense  with  very  well,  for 
the  poor  girl's  reputation  is  too  far  gone  to  be 
benefited  by  a  guardian.  I  am  wrong  in  say 
ing  poor,  for  she  has  made  a  great  deal  of 
money  here ;  so  much  that,  since  she  has  heard 
her  engagement  at  the  Opera  in  Paris  has  been 
broken  by  the  retirement  of  M.  Duponchel, 
she  is  strongly  tempted  to  remain  for  a  year 
in  America.  If  she  does,  she  will  go  this  win 
ter  to  New  Orleans  and  Havana  and  pocket 
all  the  money  she  can.  Just  imagine — she 
was  presented  formally  to  the  President,  and 
to  all  the  Cabinet  assembled  to  receive  her. 
This  strikes  me  as  the  height  of  the  ridiculous ! 
She  is  delighted  with  her  reception  every 
where,  and  said,  in  a  very  droll  way,  that  what 
surprised  her  most  was  to  find  the  manners 
of  Mr.  Van  Buren  as  distinguished  as  those  of 
Metternich. 

I  met  at  a  dinner  at  the  Belgian  Minister's, 


88         RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

Mr.  King,  Senator  from  Alabama  and  Vice- 
President  of  the  Senate ;  Mr.  Calhoun,  another 
Senator;  and  Mr.  Gilpin,  Attorney-General. 

I  also  made  the  acquaintance  of  M.  Miollet, 
an  excellent  and  remarkable  man,  whose  con 
versation  is  charming.  He  has  passed  four 
years  amongst  the  Indians,  and  talks  in  the 
most  interesting  manner  about  these  unhappy 
people 


XXVII. 

WASHINGTON,  July  21,  1840. 

I  WENT  this  morning  to  say  good-by  to 
Fanny  Elssler,  who  is  going  to  Baltimore ;  she 
told  me  all  about  her  love  affairs.  M.  de  la 
Valette  is  the  favored  lover,  but  he  is  at  Pau 
just  now.  I  think  he  was  wrong  in  letting  her 
go  without  him.  Before  leaving,  he  had  re 
commended  her  to  an  American  who  was  a 
friend  of  his,  Mr.  WickofT,  who  accompanied 
her  to  America  and  follows  her  everywhere. 
She  spoke  to  me  of  La  Valette  as  her  lover 
and  Mr.  Wickoff  as  her  friend  ;  I  took  all  that 
for  what  it  is  worth. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.         89. 

I  went  to  Congress  twice  yesterday;  they 
were  obliged  to  sit  all  night,  and  the  session 
finishes  to-day.  I  am  afraid  that  it  may  finish 
badly  for  us  :  the  Government  have  proposed  a 
bill  taxing  our  silks — which  have  been  allowed 
to  enter  free  of  duty  for  many  years— ten  per 
cent.  If  this  bill  passes,  it  will  make  a  bad 
debut  for  me  in  my  mission,  although  I  have 
been  here  too  short  a  time  to  be  accused  of 
negligence. 


XXVIII. 

WASHINGTON,  July  23,  1840. 

I  WAS  present  at  the  closing  of  the  session 
of  Congress.  They  adjourned  without  having 
passed  the  terrible  bill  taxing  our  silks,  but  it 
will  pass  without  a  doubt  at  the  next  session. 
I  have  written  a  long  dispatch  giving  an  ac 
count  of  all  I  could  gather,  and  announcing 
my  intention  of  travelling  during  the  next  two 
months.  M.  de  la  Fosse  does  not  wish  to  ac 
company  me,  so  I  go  alone. 

I  have  received  my  first  letters  from  Europe 
after  waiting  fifty-seven  days  for  them. 


90        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 


XXIX. 

PHILADELPHIA,  July  26,  1840. 

I  LEFT  Washington  yesterday  by  the  rail 
road,  which  brought  me  to  Baltimore  in  three 
hours,  where  Fanny  Elssler  gave  a  representa 
tion.  They  say  that  this  lovely  creature  has 
married  M.  Wickoff.  It  will  be  an  excellent 
match  for  her ;  it  is  true  he  is  a  bastard,  but 
he  has  sixty  thousand  francs  a  year.  I  arrived 
here  early,  and  leave  to-morrow. 


XXX. 

NEW  YORK,  July  28,  1840. 

I  AM  in  a  city  that  I  do  not  like ;  I  do 
things  that  do  not  amuse  me,  and  I  am  lodged 
in  a  place  that  does  not  please  me. 

Yesterday  afternoon  I  walked  about  the 
streets  of  this  noisy  city.  First  I  met  a  proces 
sion  of  a  thousand  Democrats,— that  is  to  say, 
friends  of  Mr.  Van  Buren, — yelling  furiously 
and  obstructing  the  streets.  I  escaped  toward 
the  Battery  in  the  hope  of  enjoying  the  sunset 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.        9 1 

on  the  sea.  I  hardly  reached  there  when  I 
saw  several  men  engaged  in  a  quarrel ;  they 
were  dressed  like  gentlemen, — all  the  men  are 
equally  well-dressed  here, — but  that  did  not 
prevent  them  from  tearing  each  other's  hair  and 
fighting  like  porters,  as  they  probably  were :  a 
great  crowd  collected,  and  I  hurried  away  from 
the  brutal  spectacle. 

I  shall  go  to-morrow  to  New  Brighton,  oppo 
site  New  York,  and  spend  two  or  three  days 
with  M.  and  Madame  Pageot  before  their  de 
parture  for  Europe ;  one  can  go  by  water  in 
half  an  hour. 


XXXI. 

NEW  YORK,  July  29,  1840. 

STATEN  ISLAND,  where  we  are  now  staying, 
which  is  called  the  Pavilion  of  New  Brighton, 
would  be  even  in  Europe  a  magnificent  estab 
lishment  ;  I  have  not  seen  in  any  of  the  water 
ing-places  that  I  have  been  to  anything  equal 
to  it.  It  is  a  succession  of  charming  pavilions 
built  on  the  shore  opposite  New  York,  and 
from  each  of  which  one  enjoys  a  beautiful 


92         RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

view  of  the  harbor.  The  parlors,  dining-rooms, 
and  bedrooms  are  very  pleasant,  and  the  food 
is  good  ;  the  company  is  very  mixed.  How 
ever,  I  have  found  some  persons  who  may  be 
agreeable  companions.  I  was  presented  to 
Madame  d'Argaiz,  wife  of  the  Spanish  Minis 
ter,  who  is  forty  years  old,  and  still  has  beau 
tiful  black  eyes.  She  is  said  to  be  clever, 
coquettish,  and  witty;  she  passes  the  summer 
here,  but  during  the  winter  she  keeps  open 
house  in  Washington  ;  her  husband  is  a 
nephew  of  D'Alava.  There  is  also  here  a 
General  d'  Alvear,  Minister  of  the  Republic  of 
Buenos-Ayres  and  Charge  d'Affaires  of  Brazil. 
I  have  been  walking  with  M.  and  Madame 
Pageot  all  the  evening  on  the  beach  under  a 
star-lit  sky,  such  as  is  never  seen  in  Europe. 
Madame  Pageot,  who,  like  all  Americans,  is 
very  ambitious,  feels  very  much  the  neglect 
her  husband  has  suffered  in  his  career  ;  it  was 
she  who  induced  him  to  send  his  resignation, 
and  she  is  anxious  that  he  should  become  a 
deputy  of  the  Opposition. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.        93 


XXXII. 

NEW  BRIGHTON,  July  31,  1840. 

NOTWITHSTANDING  the  beauty  of  the  place, 
this  aimless  life  is  hateful  to  me.  All  these 
unknown  faces,  these  children  crying  in  every 
part  of  the  house,  these  misses  who  will  play 
the  piano  at  all  times — all  this  is  very  un 
pleasant  and  annoying.  After  dinner  M.  and 
Madame  Pageot,  M.  Menou,  and  I  drove  along 
the  shore  to  the  telegraph  which  signals  the 
arrival  of  vessels  coming  to  New  York.  The 
view  from  this  point  is  admirable  :  on  the  left 
is  a  place  called  "  Quarantine,"  where  twenty 
merchant-vessels  were  at  anchor;  they  had 
come  from  the  South  and  were  waiting1  for 
permission  to  enter  the  harbor ;  opposite  is 
the  island  of  Long  Island,  with  its  well  laid- 
out  grounds  ;  in  the  middle  of  the  sea  Fort 
Hamilton,  which  defends  the  entrance  of  the 
harbor;  on  the  right  the  open  sea  ;  behind  us 
Staten  Island,  on  which  are  the  Pavilion  of 
New  Brighton,  and  an  infinity  of  villas  and 
cottages,  all  surrounded  by  verdure. 

The  life  Americans  lead  in  a  place  like  this 


94        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

is  really  curious :  the  women  remain  in  their 
bedrooms  during  the  entire  morning ;  some  of 
the  men  go  to  their  business  in  New  York  ; 
others  sleep  or  play  billiards  ;  eighty  people 
sit  down  to  dinner  and  hurry  through  it  in 
about  half  an  hour;  then  the  women  go  back 
to  their  rooms,  where  they  remain  until  tea- 
time.  During  this  interval  the  men  go  to  a 
sort  of  cafe,  which  they  call  bar-rooms  here,  and 
smoke  and  drink  and  play.  Notwithstanding 
this  kind  of  life,  I  think  the  Americans  make 
very  good  husbands,  treating  their  wives  with 
care  :  they  always  give  them  the  best  places, 
and  the  choice  bits  at  table.  This  is  done 
without  affectation,  as  a  matter  of  right,  and 
not  of  homage  ;  treating  them  with  un 
doubted  politeness,  but  with  perfect  indiffer 
ence. 

The  more  intimately  I  am  thrown  with 
Americans  the  more  difficult  I  find  it  to  judge 
them,  owing  to  their  different  types.  The 
American  of  the  North  differs  entirely  from 
one  of  the  South — I  mean  only  the  North 
and  South  of  the  United  States.  The  Ameri 
can  of  the  North,  he  who  is  called  Yankee, 
has  the  English  type,  together  with  the  cun- 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.        95 

ning  and  skill  of  the  Jew.  This  mixture  of 
Britannic  pride,  coldness,  and  stiffness  with  the 
Hebraic  cunning  makes  of  the  Yankee  a  being 
apart. 

The  Yankees  are  English  at  heart,  in  spite 
of  the  contempt  they  profess  for  them.  They 
go  to  England  to  acquire  their  tastes,  their 
morals,  their  customs,  their  fashions,  and  to 
encourage  their  antipathies  to  France  and  the 
French.  Much  more  civilized  than  their  com 
patriots  of  the  South,  they  sympathize  with 
aristocracy  and  all  other  superiority  admitted 
in  England ;  and  in  what  they  call  the  New 
England  States  very  little  change  is  required 
to  establish  a  form  of  government  altogether 
like  that  of  Old  England.  On  the  contrary, 
in  the  Southern  States  their  sympathies 
are  French  ;  but  I  am  sorry  to  say  it  is  only 
our  revolutionary  ideas  they  sympathize  with. 
They  are  vain,  and  jealous  of  the  civilization 
of  the  North,  whom  they  would  like  to  crush 
with  their  principles  of  extreme  democracy. 
Such  are  the  two  distinct  races,  who  together 
occupy  the  territory  on  the  shores  of  the 
United  States  which  extend  from  the  North 
to  the  South.  But  there  is  a  third  race,  in 


g6        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

v 

the  West,  beyond  the  Aileghany  Mountains, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  the  Mississippi,  and 
Missouri :  this  race  has  separate  character 
istics,  which  it  would  be  difficult  to  describe 
now;  the  population  is  composed  of  emi 
grants  from  the  Northern  and  Southern 
States,  from  Ireland,  and  from  Germany.  In 
my  opinion  the  West  will  be  called  upon  to 
play  the  principal  role  in  the  United  States. 
Some  years  from  now  they  will  dominate  the 
two  other  sections.  It  is  difficult  to  say  what 
it  will  become,  for  it  is  composed  just  now  of 
so  heterogeneous  a  mixture  that  no  one  can 
form  an  exact  idea  of  the  situation ;  but 
amongst  the  different  elements  which  can  and 
ought  to  be  developed,  I  consider  that  the 
Catholic  element  will  exercise  the  most 
marked  influence. 

It  seems  to  me  that  most  writers  on 
America  and  Americans  do  not  sufficiently 
consider  the  time  and  circumstances.  The 
Anglo-American  race  is,  in  my  opinion, 
charged  with  a  special  providential  mission — 
that  of  peopling  and  civilizing  this  immense 
continent  ;  they  are  proceeding  in  the  accom 
plishment  of  this  work  undisturbed  by  any 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.        97 

obstacle,  and  this  explains  the  anomalies  so 
easy  to  observe  and  criticise.  But  it  is  not 
fair  to  judge  from  details  :  one  must  see  the 
whole,  and  this  whole  is  grand,  majestic,  and 
imposing. 

And  is  it  not  imposing  to  see  a  nation  who 
sixty  years  ago  numbered  three  million  set 
tled  upon  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic,  increase 
to  eighteen  millions,  and  extending  nearly  to 
the  Pacific  Ocean  ? 

The  only  fault  of  the  Americans  is  that 
they  will  not  rest  satisfied  with  their  success, 
but  will  always,  in  comparing  themselves  with 
European  nations,  claim  superiority  over  them 
in  everything.  This  is  their  great  weakness, 
and  encourages  writers  who  come  here  to  find 
fault. 

I  admire  the  American  who  remains  Ameri 
can,  but  I  cannot  help  feeling  pity  for  one 
who  considers  Europe  inferior  to  his  new-born 
country. 


98        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 


XXXIII. 

NEW  YORK,  August  2,  1840. 

M.  DE  LA  FOREST  proposed  yesterday  that 
we  should  go  on  board  the  British  Queen, 
which  is  still  in  the  harbor,  and  bid  Pageot 
good-by.  I  was  foolish  enough  to  accept. 
I  had  scarcely  got  on  board  this  great  vessel, 
which  exactly  resembles  the  Great  Western, 
and  on  which  I  found  three  persons  who  came 
over  with  me  and  who  were  returning  to 
Europe  already,  than  I  was  overcome  with 
such  sad  emotion,  that  I  left  as  quickly  as 
possible,  and  to-day  I  am  still  oppressed  by  a 
mortal  sadness.  I  have  positively  what  our 
French  soldiers  call  "  home-sickness." 

Yesterday  evening,  wishing  to  raise  my 
spirits,  I  called  for  M.  de  Menou,  and  we 
went  to  old  Mr.  Gallatin's,  whom  I  was 
anxious  to  see,  having  heard  M.  de  Talley 
rand  often  Fpeak  of  him.  He  received  me 
very  cordially ;  he  is  a  handsome  man  of 
eighty  years  of  age,  and  in  full  possession  of 
all  his  mental  faculties.  You  no  doubt  recol 
lect  his  remarkable  appearance,  with  strong, 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT.         99 

sharp-cut  features,  and  an  expression  of  great 
intelligence.  He  conversed  with  great  ease 
about  France,  England,  and  the  United  States, 
about  things  of  the  past  and  present  ;  a  great 
deal  also,  and  very  well,  of  M.  de  Talleyrand. 

I  must  say,  in  speaking  of  this  conversation, 
that  the  only  thing  that  attaches  me  to  this 
country  is  the  universal  consideration  ac 
corded  to  M.  de  Talleyrand,  whose  memory 
is  honored  on  every  occasion,  not  only  by 
those  who  have  known  him,  but  also  by  those 
who  have  heard  him  spoken  of.  It  is  not  to 
flatter  my  sentiments  that  they  speak  thus  in 
my  presence,  for  here  they  never  put  them 
selves  out  for  anything  or  any  one.  Mr. 
Gallatin  said  yesterday,  with  great  truth,  that 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  traits  in  the 
character  of  M.  de  Talleyrand  was  that  in  the 
midst  of  all  the  different  events  of  his  life  he 
always  remained  a  good  Frenchman,  loving 
France  before  all  and  above  all ;  and  he  told 
us  in  support  of  this  eulogium  a  fact  relating 
to  Louisiana  which  took  place  during  the 
residence  of  M.  de  Talleyrand  in  the  United 
States,  and  consequently  at  a  time  when  he 
was  exiled  and  persecuted  by  his  country. 


IOO      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 


XXXIV. 

NEW  YORK,  August  7,  1840. 

I  KNOW  now  what  a  storm  is  in  America ; 
our  storms  in  Europe  can  give  one  no  idea  of 
it.  We  had  one  yesterday  which  commenced 
at  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  lasted 
until  ten  at  night.  The  sound  of  the  thunder 
is  frightful,  and  the  reverberation  is  succeeded 
by  continual  flashes  of  lightning,  giving  you 
no  time  to  recover  yourself!  The  lightning 
struck  the  steeple  of  a  church,  two  buildings 
in  the  harbor,  and  one  in  an  island  near  the 
city,  killing  two  children.  The  heavy  fall  of 
rain  undermined  several  houses. 

I  went  a  few  days  ago  to  Paterson,  a 
charming  place,  where  there  are  waterfalls  and 
a  manufactory  of  arms.  I  found  M.  Menou 
here,  who  took  me  to  see  his  friend  Mr.  Colt, 
owner  of  almost  the  whole  town,  which  con 
tains  five  thousand  inhabitants  and  thirty 
factories,  placed  on  the  waterfalls  of  the 
prettiest  river  in  the  world,  which  has  retained 
its  Indian  name,  the  Passaic  River.  I  prefer 
the  Indian  names  to  those  which  the  Ameri- 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      IOI 

cans  give  to  most  of  their  towns,  and  which 
they  have  taken  from  the  ancient  and  modern 
names  of  Europe,  such  as  Rome,  Carthage, 
Florence,  Syracuse,  Paris,  Havre  de  Grace: 
these  with  the  Indian  names  form  a  ridiculous 
medley. 

Mr.  Colt  took  us  first  to  the  manufactory  of 
arms,  where  carbines  and  pistols  are  made, 
which  by  a  new  and  wonderful  invention  can 
be  fired  seven  times  in  fifteen  seconds,  with 
out  reloading ;  he  then  took  us  to  a  factory  of 
cotton  cloth  for  sails,  to  another  of  paper,  and 
to  one  where  steam-engines  were  made.  The 
situation  is  picturesque  and  charming;  the 
ground  is  covered  with  weeping  willows,  which 
dip  their  branches  in  the  pretty  Passaic,  and 
with  catalpas  and  sycamores ;  trees  of  the 
same  species  which  we  see  in  Europe  do  not 
at  all  resemble  the  giant  trees  which  grow  in 
this  country. 

Mr.  Colt,  after  introducing  me  to  his  wife 
and  daughters  and  asking  me  to  dinner,  very 
kindly  begged  me  to  pay  him  a  visit  of  several 
days. 

M.  Mollien,  our  Consul-General  at  Havana, 
is  here  and  has  just  left  me.  He  is  a  great 


102      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

traveller:  he  has  visited  the  interior  of  Africa 
and  the  two  Americas ;  he  has  lived  in 
Havana  during  the  last  six  years,  and  is  so 
accustomed  to  the  heat  there,  that  here  when 
we  are  broiling  he  complains  of  the  cold.  He 
spoke  of  the  Countess  Merlin,  whom  he  saw 
when  she  sailed  for  Europe.  Before  leaving 
Havana,  she  gave  a  grand  public  concert  in  a 
hall  larger  than  that  of  the  Opera  at  Paris ; 
she  sang  for  the  poor,  and  notwithstanding 
the  exorbitant  price  of  tickets,  the  hall  was 
filled.  Some  went  from  curiosity,  and  others 
from  duty;  all  the  nobility  of  the  country 
being  related  to  her  were  obliged  to  go,  and 
the  receipts  amounted  to  thirty  thousand 
francs.  But  her  singing  was  not  liked;  they 
did  not  go  so  far  as  to  hiss  her,  but  distinct 
murmurs  of  disapprobation  were  often  heard. 
Her  journey  has  been  fortunate  for  her  in 
other  ways ;  she  has  obtained  from  her 
brothers  a  draft  for  two  hundred  thousand 
francs,  and  received  between  fifty  and  sixty 
thousand  francs  in  presents  from  her  family. 
It  is  an  old  custom  in  Havana  to  make  presents 
to  a  young  girl  who  is  going  to  be  married, 
or  on  any  particular  occasion — as  for  instance 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT.       1 03 

when  about  to  make  a  long  journey:  all  her 
relations,  even  the  most  distant,  then  give 
either  presents  of  gold  or  of  jewelry. 

M.  Mollien  gives  a  very  attractive  descrip 
tion  of  Havana :  it  is  the  only  colony  that  is 
prosperous  at  the  present  time.  It  is  the  most 
valuable  jewel  in  the  crown  of  Spain,  and  sup 
plies  the  Queen  with  three  hundred  thousand 
francs  a  month  for  her  pin-money.  The  in 
habitants  are  rich  and  happy,  and  notwith 
standing  their  wealth,  which  would  allow  of  a 
great  display  of  luxury,  the  life  there  is  very 
simple.  The  heat  prevents  one  from  going 
out  between  the  hours  of  eight  in  the  morning 
and  six  in  the  evening,  but  in  the  houses, 
which  are  built  of  stone  and  arched,  one  does 
not  suffer.  They  have  terraces  on  the  roof, 
where  one  can  walk  during  the  cool  and 
charming  nights.  The  inhabitants  are  divided 
into  three  classes :  the  Spaniards,  who  are  not 
agreeable  ;  the  Creoles,  who  are  charming  ;  and 
the  negroes,  who  are  treated  with  so  much 
kindness  that  they  form  almost  part  of  the 
family;  they  are  gentle,  obedient,  and  devoted 
even  to  fanaticism.  It  is  just  the  reverse  in 
the  United  States,  where  they  have  been 


104      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

brutalized  and  degraded  by  contempt  and  bad 
treatment,  until  they  have  become  vulgar  and 
depraved. 


XXXV. 

NEW  YORK,  August  u,  1840. 

I  DINED  yesterday  with  Doctor  Berger  and 
his  wife,  his  daughter  fourteen  years  old,  and 
three  or  four  Frenchmen,  the  flower  of  the 
French  colony,  which  is  very  numerous,  but 
not  very  select.  Fanny  Elssler  was  the  sub 
ject  of  conversation.  Just  imagine — at  Balti 
more  the  young  men  when  she  came  out  from 
the  theatre  detached  the  horses  from  her  car 
riage  and  drew  it  themselves  to  her  hotel ! 
She  comes  to  New  York  to-morrow,  and  they 
have  made  arrangements  here  for  a  grand 
serenade  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  German 
musicians,  who  are  to  play  during  the  night 
under  her  windows,  and  will  be  escorted  by 
the  subscribers  on  horseback,  carrying  torches. 
The  Americans  think  they  prove  by  these 
acts  of  madness  that  they  have  as  good  taste 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT.       1 05 

as  Europeans,  and  know  how  to  appreciate 
talent. 

I  must  tell  you  another  characteristic  trait, 
which  will  give  you  some  idea  of  the  people 
with  whom  I  have  the  pleasure  of  living. 
Coming  out  of  a  restaurant  where  I  had  dined, 
I  took  a  carnage  from  the  stand — a  sort  of 
citadine  with  two  wheels ;  I  had  my  umbrella 
in  my  hand,  and  the  coachman  asked  me  to 
lend  it  to  him.  This  I  did  willingly,  at  the 
same  time  noting  the  little  specimen  of  demo 
cratic  liberty. 

Mr.  Wickoff,  the  beau  of  Fanny  Elssler,  came 
yesterday  to  tell  me  that  she  wished  to  see 
me:  I  went,  and  found  her  having  herself 
painted.  She  wanted  me  to  say  a  good  word 
for  her  to  M.  Mollien,  whom  she  will  meet  in 
Havana,  where  she  spends  next  winter.  She 
will  not  return  to  Paris  until  spring.  She  has 
made  eighty  thousand  francs  in  three  months, 
and  will  certainly  gain  three  times  as  much 
during  her  tour  through  the  principal  cities 
of  the  United  States.  There  is  a  perfect  fu 
rore  for  her  here !  The  spectators  act  like 
mad-men  when  she  dances. 

She  showed  me  a  letter  from  the  late  Kiner 


105      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

of  Prussia,  written  five  months  ago :  in  it  he 
begs  her  to  come  to  Berlin,  that  he  may  see 
her  once  more  before  he  dies. 


XXXVI. 

NEW  YORK,  August  15,   1840. 

I  WENT  yesterday  to  the  Park  Theatre  to 
see  Fanny  in  the  ballet  of  the  Tarentula  and 
afterward  in  the  Cracovienne.  The  beautiful 
Elssler,  as  the  American  newspapers  call  her, 
danced  very  well,  but  the  rest  of  the  ballet 
was  pitiable:  so  truly  grotesque,  that  it  must 
have  been  a  great  annoyance  to  her. 

In  the  evening,  when  the  serenade  by  the 
Germans  ought  to  have  taken  place,  my  valet, 
who  wished  to  hear  it,  went  under  Elssler's 
window  with  the  proprietor  of  our  house  ;  but 
the  American  people  not  liking  the  idea  of  the 
serenade,  came  with  torches  and  drove  the 
Germans  away,  and  then  burnt  their  music- 
stands  and  music.  This  is  how  they  under 
stand  liberty  in  this  strange  country. 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 


XXXVII. 

NEW  YORK,  August  17,  1840. 

YESTERDAY  morning  I  had  a  visit  from  our 
Consul,  M.  de  la  Forest,  who  had  just  come 
from  Philadelphia,  where  he  had  been  to  see 
his  daughter,  Madame  d'Hauterive.  I  went 
with  him  to  Hoboken,  a  village  on  a  height 
opposite  New  York,  where  there  is  a  hotel 
looked  upon  as  a  pleasure  resort,  and  in  which 
there  are  about  thirty  guests,  with  whom  we 
dined.  Among  them  I  will  mention  a  Mrs. 
Anderson,  who  is  very  pretty  ;  she  has  lived  in 
Paris  two  years,  during  which  time  her  hus 
band  was  the  American  Secretary  of  Legation. 
The  other  guests  were  French  and  American 
merchants  staying  there  for  a  few  weeks  with 
their  families ;  all  very  common  people  of 
course,  but  still  less  so  than  the  same  class  of 
people  would  be  in  Europe. 

After  dinner  M.  de  la  Forest  took  me  to  a 
very  pretty  little  house,  a  real  English  cottage 
in  a  nest  of  flowers,  belonging  to  an  American 
family,  with  whom  two  daughters  of  Madame 
F—  -  were  staying.  This  grand-niece  of  M. 


108      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

de  Seze  is  the  intimate  friend  of  our  Consul, 
and  one  of  her  daughters  is  engaged  to  be 
married  to  his  son,  who  is  Vice-Consul  at  Ca 
racas.  According  to  the  father,  his  intimacy 
with  the  family  is  due  to  this  engagement. 
According  to  the  French  colony,  the  engage 
ment  is  due  to  the  intimacy  of  the  parents. 
It  has  given  occasion  to  great  scandal,  to  cari 
catures  and  newspaper  articles ;  it  is  certain 
that  Madame  de  la  Forest,  who  has  been  in 
France  during  the  last  three  years,  opposes  as 
strongly  as  she  can  the  marriage  of  her  son 

with  Mademoiselle  F .     However,  we  took 

these  two  young  ladies,  who  are  decidedly 
ugly,  in  our  carriage,  and  drove  twelve  miles 
through  the  most  beautiful  country — partly 
along  the  shores  of  the  North  River,  and  partly 
on  those  of  a  little  river  called  the  HackewaL* 
The  young  girls  here  so  celebrated  for  their 
beauty  have  not  a  healthy  look ;  their  man 
ners  are  not  pleasant ;  they  are  cold-blooded 
coquettes ;  they  tantalize  the  men,  and  while 
not  concealing  their  desire  to  find  a  husband, 
they  do  not  seem  to  care  to  find  in  him  any 
thing  else  than  a  companion.  As  to  the 
*  Apparently  the  Hackensack. 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT.       1 09 

women,  they  are  all  faded,  worn  out,  finished, 
after  two  years  of  marriage.  The  lady  to 
whom  the  cottage  we  saw  yesterday  belongs 
who  it  seems  was  lovely  at  twenty  years  of 
age,  is  now  at  twenty-six  a  frightful  ruin — 
nothing  but  skin  and  bone,  and  with  a  very 
coarse  complexion. 

We  received  news  from  London  to  the  3d 
by  the  steamer  Acadia,  which  made  the  voy 
age  to  Halifax  in  twelve  days,  and  from  there 
to  New  York  in  thirty-six  hours.  This  is  a 
very  short  time  to  travel  twelve  hundred 
leagues,  but  very  long  to  one  so  far  away  from 
his  country. 

War  between  France  and  England  is  the 
topic  of  conversation  everywhere,  and  the  sub 
ject  of  discussion  in  every  newspaper.  With 
out  exactly  blaming  us,  they  laugh  at  the  brag 
ging  articles  in  our  papers,  which,  they  say, 
never  come  to  anything,  and  only  throw  ridi 
cule  on  the  French  Government.  They  add 
that  if  we  really  go  to  war  it  will  be  for  some 
thing  of  very  little  consequence,  and  as  usual 
for  glory,  without  any  profit  to  us.  The 
Americans  are  matter-of-fact  people,  attracted 
by  the  substance  and  not  the  shadow.  And  I 


1 10      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMA  T. 

have  already  seen  that  they  do  not  think 
much  of  us ;  notwithstanding  their  compli 
mentary  speeches,  they  do  not  feel  the  slight 
est  gratitude  for  the  aid  given  them  by  France 
in  their  War  of  Independence;  and  the  in 
demnity  of  twenty-five  millions  paid  five  years 
ago  has  finished  us  in  their  opinion.  They  see 
that  we  can  always  be  duped.  It  is  a  singular 
fact  that  they  fear  the  English,  whose  writers 
never  cease  to  ridicule  them,  and  yet  their 
tastes  and  inclinations  are  English.  It  is  true 
they  have  the  same  origin,  the  same  manners, 
customs,  and  religion  ;  but  the  Revolution  of 
1776,  the  Peace  of  1783,  and  the  War  of  1812 
ought,  it  would  seem,  to  have  put  an  insur 
mountable  barrier  between  these  two  nations, 
and,  above  all,  when  one  thinks  of  the  con 
tempt  with  which  the  English  treat  the  Ameri 
cans.  Well,  the  Americans  admire  and  imi 
tate  John  Bull.  As  soon  as  they  have  a  little 
money,  they  want  a  house  in  the  English 
style.  Then  it  is  only  in  England  and  Scot 
land  that  an  American  can  satisfy  his  pride  of 
birth.  The  first  thing  he  does  after  he  has 
made  a  fortune  is  to  seek  in  England  proofs 
of  his  descent  from  some  English  family,  and 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMA  T.       Ill 

on  his  return  to  have  the  coat  of  arms  of  this 
family  engraved  on  his  silver.  There  are 
many  contradictions  in  this  Nation,  which  is 
still  in  its  infancy  and  in  a  transition  state. 

I  have  read  again  with  great  care  M.  de 
Tocqueville's  work,  "  Democracy  in  America." 
The  two  last  volumes  are  not  equal  to  the 
first  ones.  In  these  there  is  a  general  expo 
sure,  which  is  clear  and  exact,  of  the  weak 
errors  in  the  construction  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  whether  federal  or  par 
ticular  to  each  of  the  States  of  the  federation. 
There  is  also  a  faithful  picture  of  the  Ameri 
can  character  at  the  time,  for  this  character  is 
constantly  modified  by  a  thousand  causes  too 
many  to  enumerate  :  it  is  sufficient  to  speak  of 
immigration,  which  throws  one  hundred  thou 
sand  Europeans  on  the  American  continent 
every  year.  Thus  I  recognize  as  true  the  pic 
ture  which  M.  de  Tocqueville  gives  of  the 
Yankee  of  New  England,  and  also  of  the 
Southerner,  of  the  Virginian  and  Georgian, 
proprietors  of  slaves,  and  living  in  the  midst 
of  the  slavery  of  the  blacks.  But  one  sees 
plainly  in  the  last  two  volumes  of  his  work, 
published  five  years  after  his  departure  from 


112      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

the  United  States,  that  the  object  of  the 
author  is,  while  giving  his  ideas  on  the  democ 
racy  of  America,  more  or  less  new,  and  his 
reflections,  which  are  mostly  old,  to  apply  them 
to  the  moral  and  political  state  of  France. 
What  in  my  opinion  spoils  M.  de  Tocqueville's 
work  and  partly  takes  away  from  the  impor 
tance  he  wished  to  give  it,  is  the  comparison 
he  tries  to  establish  between  the  democracy  of 
the  United  States  and  that  of  France.  This 
comparison  appears  to  me  entirely  imaginary  ; 
the  fundamental  points  essential  to  it  are  want 
ing,  or  differ  absolutely.  We  know  that  in  the 
United  States  they  owe  the  beginning  of  their 
organization  to  religious  persecution,  which 
drove  the  English  and  Scotch  Puritans  to  the 
American  Continent ;  that  these  men  in  estab 
lishing  themselves  there  took  for  the  principles 
upon  which  they  founded  their  institutions  the 
doctrines  of  the  Gospel  as  interpreted  by  them 
selves.  This  is  the  explanation  of  the  actual 
American  Constitution,  modified  perhaps  by 
the  peculiar  character  of  the  Anglo-Americans, 
perhaps  by  the  provincial  and  municipal  insti- 
stitutions  which  the  puritans  brought  with 
them  from  the  mother-country.  Taking  this 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.       113 

thread  for  a  guide  in  the  examination  of  the 
American  Constitution,  one  can  easily  trace  it 
to  the  present  time.  You  see  the  gradual 
changes  brought  about  by  the  increase  of  pop 
ulation  ;  the  desire  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of 
the  mother  Church;  the  Revolution  of  17/6, 
which  was  the  result ;  the  efforts  of  distin 
guished  men  who  vainly  sought  to  control  this 
revolution  or  lessen  the  evil  consequences ; 
and  later  the  Irish,  German,  and  French  emi 
gration  ;  the  opening  and  civilizing  of  the 
West ;  the  large  private  fortunes  acquired  by 
the  creation  of  banks;  then  the  ruin  of  these 
banks:  and  you  come  to  understand  the  moral 
and  political  position  of  the  United  States  at 
the  present  time.  One  may  write  volumes  and 
comment  forever  on  these  events,  but  he  must 
always  return  to  this  conclusion — that  the  mis 
sion  to  people  and  to  civilize  the  American 
continent  is  intrusted  by  Providence  to  the 
Anglo-American  race.  It  is  a  fact  apart  from 
history,  and  of  which  one  can  draw  no  conclu 
sion  from  the  rest  of  the  world,  that  the  conse 
quences  may  be  but  transient  and  apply  only 
to  this  fact,  and  that  it  is  not  improbable  that 
as  the  United  States  becomes  more  thickly  in- 


114      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

habited  and  civilized  they  will  enter  the  com 
mon  path  by  which  other  nations  have  passed, 
only  retaining  those  particular  traits  belonging 
to  each  of  them,  such  as  cause  a  Russian  to  be 
distinguished  from  an  Englishman,  a  Spaniard 
from  a  German. 

But  how  can  any  one  compare  such  a  state 
of  things  to  that  of  France  ?  To  France,  the 
most  ancient  monarchy  of  Europe,  which  after 
having  passed  through  a  feudal  government, 
and  that  of  the  brilliant  despotism  of  Louis 
XIV.  and  the  degrading  despotism  of  Louis 
XV.,  extended  to  1789,  when  the  radical  re 
form  of  her  constitution  inclined  her  to  revo 
lution.  This  revolution  destroyed  everything 
—institutions,  morals,  and  religion  ;  it  upset 
the  rights  of  property,  but  did  it  modify  the 
national  character  as  much  as  was  supposed  ? 
This  passion  for  equality,  which  it  developed 
to  such  a  degree — was  it  not  more  a  desire  to 
crush  the  higher  classes  and  put  themselves  in 
their  places,  than  a  rational  determination  to 
equalize  the  condition  of  men?  Have  not  the 
French  always  the  same  inclination  to  distin 
guish  themselves,  the  same  thirst  for  military 
glory?  And  this  inclination  for  distinction, 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT.       11$ 

this  thirst  for  military  glory  is  nothing  else  but 
the  desire  of  superiority  applied  to  one's  self, 
and  of  a  personal  aristocratic  feeling.  Every 
one  has  the  desire  to  place  himself  above  his 
equals :  this  is  the  secret  of  revolutions.  That 
of  1789,  in  wishing  to  destroy  everything,  could 
not  blot  out  the  history  of  the  last  eighteen 
centuries  ;  it  could  not  prevent  memories  of  the 
past  and  traditions  being  perpetuated  ;  it  could 
not  prevent  France,  surrounded  by  other  coun 
tries  where  aristocratic  sentiments  were  still 
honored,  finding  points  of  comparison  every 
day,  which,  if  they  excited  the  hatred  of  some, 
kept  up  the  ambition  of  others. 

To  sum  up  :  I  say  that  the  democracy,  which 
they  tell  us  is  final,  appears  to  me  to  be  in  a 
state  of  transition,  and  that  in  any  case  that 
which  exists  in  the  United  States  cannot  be 
compared  to  that  of  France.  American  de 
mocracy  is  approaching  the  boundary-lines  of 
aristocracy,  and  perhaps  toward  a  limited  mon 
archy.  French  democracy  is  going  I  don't 
know  where,  but  I  think  more  toward  des 
potism  than  toward  a  republic.  Whatever 
they  do,  absolute  equality  of  condition  is  a 
dream  which  cannot  be  realized.  It  is  con- 


Il6      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

trary  to  the  nature  of  things  and  contrary  to 
human  nature.  The  rich  man  is  an  aristocrat 
in  the  eyes  of  the  poor,  the  savant  in  those  of 
the  ignorant,  the  strong  man  in  those  of  the 
feeble;  and  I  do  not  know  of  any  system  of 
equality  possible  except  it  be  in  a  nation  com 
posed  of  citizens  who  are  poor,  weak,  and 
ignorant  to  the  same  degree,  and  this  would 
not  be  a  nation,  but  an  assemblage,  an  ag 
glomeration  of  slaves,  who  would  soon  become 
a  prey  to  their  neighbors. 


XXXVIII. 

NEW  YORK,  August  23,  1840. 

HAVING  established  my  head-quarters  here 
during  the  very  warm  weather,  I  have  accepted 
an  invitation  to  the  club,  that  I  may  quietly 
study  the  character  of  the  people  with  whom  I 
am  condemned  to  live  ;  besides  which,  I  can 
dine  there  more  at  my  ease  than  elsewhere. 

I  went  yesterday  with  M.  Menou  to  the  ex 
treme  end  of  New  York,  to  a  quarter  which 
ought  to  be  the  most  elegant  in  the  city ;  but 
the  buildings  there  have  been  left  unfinished 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT.      I  I/ 

in  consequence  of  the  financial  crisis,  which 
has  now  lasted  four  years.  It  is  curious  to  see 
these  unfinished  buildings :  it  looks  as  if  the 
work  had  been  stopped  by  the  enchanted  ring 
of  some  evil  spirit.  These  buildings,  when  fin 
ished,  will  be  larger  but  not  handsomer  than 
those  of  other  parts  of  the  town  :  they  are  of 
the  same  very  red  brick,  the  same  very  green 
shutters,  the  same  very  white  doors — alto 
gether  hideous.  The  University,  of  Gothic 
architecture,  and  Washington  Square  are  a  lit 
tle  better  than  the  rest.  And,  what  a  beauti 
ful  place  this  city  could  be  made,  situated  be 
tween  two  rivers  which  can  be  seen  on  the 
right  and  left  from  the  end  of  each  street ! 
The  situation  is  admirable  ;  there  is  no  place 
that  can  compare  with  it ;  and  not  a  curiosity 
to  see,  and  not  an  edifice  you  can  speak  of. 

I  met  Baron  Mareschall  yesterday  on  the 
Battery,  with  Count  Colombiano,  charge 
d'affaires  of  Sardinia,  one  of  my  colleagues, 
whose  acquaintance  I  had  not  yet  made  ;  he  is, 
like  me,  an  invalid,  and  lives  in  Washington 
only  when  obliged  to ;  he  seemed  agreeable 
and  well-bred.  While  continuing  our  walk  we 
watched  the  rising  of  a  magnificent  storm. 


IlS      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

The  sky  grew  dark  and  the  harbor  was  entirely 
obscured,  except  when  lit  up  occasionally  by 
flashes  of  lightning — more  like  volcanic  erup 
tions  than  our  poor  little  flashes  in  Europe. 
We  went  home  in  the  midst  of  formidable 
claps  of  American  thunder,  hoping  the  storm 
would  cool  the  air  for  to-day ;  but  it  has  not 
done  anything  of  the  kind,  and  last  night  I  had 
my  first  experience  of  mosquitoes,  who  become 
gay  and  festive  only  during  the  hottest 
weather;  they  never  left  me  quiet  for  a  mo 
ment. 

I  have  seen  the  superb  steamer  called  the 
President  ;  her  deck  is  three  hundred  feet 
long,  but  her  interior  accommodations  are  not 
nearly  as  good  as  those  of  the  Great  Western. 
If  I  return  to  Europe  I  shall  most  certainly  do 
so  on  an  English  ship.  The  American  and 
French  ships  are  uncomfortable  and  unsafe, 
owing  to  the  rapacity  of  the  one  and  negli 
gence  of  the  other.  I  have  seen  something 
here  which  is  very  curious :  it  is  an  artist  who 
takes  portraits  by  daguerrotype ;  they  are 
frightful  pictures,  and  only  give  the  features 
without  any  expression  or  shades ;  they  are 
like  the  skeleton  of  a  face,  black  and  hideous ; 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT.       1 19 

but  this  reproduction  fixed  on  glass  is  never 
theless  a  very  strange  invention,  and  if  it 
should  be  perfected,  will  be  very  useful.  These 
likenesses,  which  would  be  such  consolation  in 
absence,  will  be  within  the  reach  of  persons 
with  small  purses.  M.  Mollien  and  I  had  our 
selves  drawn.  This  is  the  expression  in  use. 
We  were  frightful,  and  appeared  at  least  a 
hundred  years  old ;  the  operation  lasted 
scarcely  five  minutes. 


XXXIX. 

NEW  YORK,  August  29,  1840. 

I  WENT  yesterday  morning  with  M.  de  la 
Forest  to  Roccaway,  the  most  fashionable  place 
for  sea-bathing  in  the  country.  We  crossed 
the  East  River  in  a  ferryboat,  and  landed  at 
Brooklyn  City,  one  of  those  towns  which  have 
been  laid  out,  and  in  which  very  few  houses 
have  as  yet  been  built,  all  work  having  been 
stopped  on  account  of  the  disastrous  financial 
situation.  Brooklyn  is  opposite  New  York, 
on  Long  Island ;  taking  the  railroad  there, 
we  arrived,  in  one  hour's  journey,  across  a 


120      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

beautiful,  well-wooded  country,  at  a  lovely  vil- 
lage,  Jamaisa,  destined  soon  to  become  a  city 
The  railroad  is  only  finished  to  this  place,  and 
we  were  obliged  to  ride  eight  miles  farther 
in  a  miserable  char-a-bancs,  through  a  wild 
marshy  country,  before  reaching  the  Pavilion 
of  Roccaway. 

This  Pavilion,  which  is  on  the  seashore,  con 
tains  accommodation  for  one  hundred  persons. 
The  beach  is  bare,  gloomy,  and  monotonous — 
not  a  tree  or  a  shrub ;  the  arrangements  for 
bathing  are  bad,  and  the  bathing-houses  unfit 
for  use  ;  and  this  is  a  sample  of  the  watering- 
places  they  boast  so  much  of !  I  was  obliged 
to  make  a  great  many  new  acquaintances ; 
among  others,  that  of  Madame  Cigogne, 
whose  ridiculous  name  I  have  already  spoken 
of,  and  of  her  daughter  Mademoiselle  Adele 
Cigogne  ;  they  are  Creoles  of  Saint-Domingo, 
and  emigrated  to  the  United  States  when  that 
island  was  in  a  state  of  rebellion.  They  es 
tablished  a  boarding-school  for  young  girls  at 
Philadelphia,  as  I  think  I  told  you.  Made 
moiselle  Cigogne  is  about  fifty  years  old  and 
still  very  handsome,  with  perfectly  regular 
features,  and  the  expressive  countenance  of 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      121 

the  Creole.  She  has  also  a  great  deal  of  intel 
ligence  and  wit.  These  ladies  invited  me  to 
visit  them  in  Philadelphia,  which  I  shall  cer 
tainly  do  with  the  greatest  pleasure,  this  splen 
did  old  maid  being  one  of  the  most  agreeable 
women  I  have  ever  met. 

The  Count  de  Grasse  was  presented  to  me 
by  his  own  request,  although  he  is  a  Legiti 
mist.  He  is  the  son  of  Admiral  de  Grasse  ; 
his  sister  married  a  M.  de  Pau,  whose  daugh 
ter  is  Madame  Mortimer  Livingston,  and 
whose  son  is  married  to  Miss  Thorn.  I  also 
made  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mor 
timer  Livingston,  who  is  distingute  and  mel 
ancholy,  and  of  Mrs.  Davis  of  Philadelphia  : 
she  is  frightfully  ugly,  but  intelligent,  and  an 
artist. 

I  have  at  last  seen  Madame  Jerome  Bona 
parte, — Miss  Patterson, — a  large  fat  woman, 
whose  face  still  preserves  traces  of  wonderful 
beauty,  but  totally  devoid  of  expression  ;  she 
looks  like  a  plaster  model  in  a  studio  enlarged. 
They  say  she  is  an  agreeable  woman,  but  I 
pronounce  her  dreadfully  tedious.  She  has 
just  come  from  Paris,  and  talked  to  me  of  the 
Ponte~coulants  as  her  intimate  friends. 


122      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

At  two  o'clock  we  sat  down,  one  hundred 
•and  twenty,  at  table.  After  dinner  the  women 
played  ten  -  pins  under  a  shed  closed  in  on 
three  sides.  There  I  saw  the  most  singular 
spectacle.  The  gentlemen  took  off  their  coats 
and  vests,  lit  their  cigars,  joined  in  the  game 
with  these  ladies,  who  did  not  seem  in  the 
least  shocked.  A  young  lady,  said  to  be  one  of 
the  greatest  beauties  in  New  York,  and  cele 
brated  as  an  amateur  singer,  made  herself  very 
conspicuous  by  her  free  behavior  and  manners 
with  the  gentlemen  in  their  shirt-sleeves.  I 
cannot  get  accustomed  to  these  things. 

Fanny  Elssler  has  given  her  last  perform 
ance  in  New  York ;  it  was  her  benefit.  She 
made  a  little  speach  in  English  at  the  close  of 
the  performance,  which  had  a  prodigious  suc 
cess.  No  conqueror  after  a  victory  was  ever 
applauded  as  she  was. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT.       12$ 


XL. 

NEW  YORK,  September  2,  1840. 
I  STARTED  at  seven  o'clock  yesterday  morn 
ing-  to  pay  Mr.  Hamilton  a  visit  at  Newis.  He 
met  me  at  the  steamboat  landing,  and  took  me 
to  his  house,  which  is  on  a  height ;  we  arrived 
there  at  ten  o'clock.  It  is  a  pretty  dwelling, 
arranged  and  furnished  in  English  fashion, 
but  built  of  wood,  which  must  make  it  difficult 
to  keep  warm  in  bad  weather.  The  view  is  en 
chanting  :  it  takes  in  thirty  miles  of  the  Hud 
son,  a  magnificent  river,  which  opposite  Newis 
is  three  miles  broad  ;  perpendicular  rocks  which 
are  called  the  Palisades  extend  eight  miles 
along  the  opposite  shore.  The  Hudson  is  cov 
ered  with  boats  of  all  kinds — steamboats,  and 
boats  with  white  sails  ;  the  horizon  is  shut  out 
on  both  sides  by  lovely  hills,  covered  with 
trees,  and  cottages  in  every  direction  sur 
rounded  with  flowers.  The  Hudson  is  often 
compared  with  the  Rhine;  but  is  far  superior 
in  size  and  grandeur,  the  Rhine  is  richer  in 
traditions,  and  must  rest  content  in  the  pride 
of  its  feudal  ruins. 


124      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

Mr.  Hamilton  presented  me  to  his  wife  and 
four  daughters :  the  eldest,  Mrs.  Shuyler,  is 
ugly  ;  she  speaks  French  very  well ;  the  second, 
Mrs.  Bowdwins,  stared  at  me  all  the  time,  and 
didn't  say  a  word  in  any  language  ;  the  third, 
Miss  Mary,  was  equally  silent ;  the  fourth, 
Miss  Angelique,  is  very  pretty  and  lively. 
Taking  them  altogether,  including  little  Alex 
ander,  whom  you  know,  and  who  was  not 
there,  they  are  an  agreeable  family ;  they 
overwhelmed  me  with  polite  attentions,  and  I 
shall  be  delighted  to  see  them  again  in  Wash 
ington,  where  they  propose  passing  two 
months  next  winter. 

After  the  morning  tea,  Mr.  Hamilton  took 
me  to  see  the  Mesdames  Jones,  his  neighbors, 
who  took  us  to  see  Mr.  Washington  Irving, 
whose  place  adjoins  theirs.  Mr.  Hamilton 
wished  to  ask  him  to  dine  with  me,  but  he 
had  just  left  for  New  York.  Mr.  Irving  is  not 
married,  and  lives  with  his  four  nieces,  who 
received  us ;  not  one  of  them  is  pretty,  but 
their  faces  and  manners  are  agreeable.  The 
house  is  lovely:  it  is  Holland  House  in  minia 
ture — climbing  plants  outside,  books  and  com 
fort  inside.  We  walked  back  to  Newis 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT.       12$ 

through  the  woods,  by  a  path  overhanging  the 
Hudson.  I  forgot  to  tell  you  that  Washing 
ton  Irving's  reputation  as  a  literary  man  stands 
highest  in  America  ;  I  should  have  been  glad 
to  have  seen  him.  At  two  o'clock  we  had  a 
good  dinner  and  well  served,  and  at  four  I  left 
Newis  and  my  kind  hosts. 


XLI. 

BOSTON,  September  5,  1840. 

I  LEFT  New  York  the  day  before  yesterday, 
at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  with  M.  de  la 
Forest  and  two  of  Madame  F—  —  *s  daughters: 
one  is  the  future  daughter-in-law  of  our  Con 
sul,  and  the  other  is  also  to  be  married  soon. 
The  steamboat  took  us  up  the  East  River  to 
New  Haven,  where  we  arrived  at  one  o'clock ; 
we  then  took  the  railroad  and  arrived  in  two 
hours  at  Hartford,  where  we  stayed  all  night. 
After  dinner  we  walked  through  the  town. 
There  is  an  oak-tree  here  which  they  say  is  five 
hundred  years  old  :  it  is  hollow,  and  two  hun 
dred  years  ago,  a  charter  given  by  the  King  of 
England,  and  which  he  afterward  wished  to 


126      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

withdraw,  was  hidden  in  it.  This  tree  is  called 
the  Charter  Oak.  I  took  an  acorn  away  with 
me.  Hartford  is  one  of  the  learned  cities  of 
the  United  States  ;  her  university  is  celebrated  ; 
there  is  another  at  New  Haven,  also  in  great 
repute;  the  third  is  in  Cambridge,  one  mile  from 
Boston.  The  oldest  inhabited  States  pay  most 
attention  to  the  sciences.  New  Haven  and 
Hartford  are  the  two  capitals  of  Connecticut, 
one  of  the  richest  and  most  advanced  States 
in  New  England  ;  the  Legislature  of  the  State 
meets  alternately  at  one  or  the  other  city. 

We  visited  an  insane  asylum,  which  was  ad 
mirably  kept ;  a  crazy  woman  asked  me  where 
I  came  from ;  when  I  told  her  that  I  came  from 
New  York,  she  said  with  a  melancholy  voice, 
"/  know  it,  but  I  am  forever  out  of  the  world." 
The  physician  said,  however,  that  she  was  get 
ting  well. 

We  left  Hartford  at  eight  in  the  morning  by 
the  stage.  It  was  the  first  time  I  had  travelled 
by  one  in  America — they  are  not  much  better 
than  those  in  France ;  the  country  through 
which  we  passed  is  lovely,  and  would  recall 
England  if  more  thickly  settled.  After  having 
passed  through  places  called  Berlin,  Windsor, 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT.       I2/ 

Grafton,  and  Newton,  without  stopping,  we  ar 
rived  at  Springfield,  where  we  dined,  and  then 
travelled  ninety  miles  in  five  hours,  on  a  splen 
did  railroad  and  through  a  beautiful  cultivated 
country.  A  lovely  sunset  added  to  our  en 
joyment  of  a  splendid  view  of  Boston.  The 
city  is  built  in  the  form  of  an  amphitheatre 
around  the  shores  of  the  ocean  ;  it  contains 
one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  inhabitants, 
including  four  or  five  towns  in  the  suburbs — 
Broaklin,  Cambridge,  Charlestown,  etc.  Bos 
ton  is  the  oldest  town  in  the  United  States, 
built  two  hundred  years  ago,  and  the  streets 
are  narrower  and  the  houses  higher  than  in 
more  recently  built  towns ;  it  is  a  beautiful 
English  town. 

M.  Isnard,  the  French  Consul,  who  had  been 
advised  of  my  coming,  had  fortunately  secured 
rooms  for  me  ;  otherwise  it  would  have  been 
difficult,  as  there  was  a  political  meeting  of  the 
opponents  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  to  be  held  on 
the  loth  of  this  month,  which  will  draw  about 
sixty  thousand  strangers  here.  Fanny  Elssler 
and  the  indispensable  Wickoff  are  staying  in 
the  same  hotel  with  us :  I  am  fated  to  meet 
them  everywhere. 


128     RECOLLECTIONS    OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 


XLII. 

BOSTON,  September  6,  1840. 
IT  has  rained  all  day.      The  little   F 


have  been  reading  and  working  from  early 
this  morning  till  night.  They  have  been  well 
brought  up,  and  not  too  much  troublesome.  M. 
de  la  Forest  and  I  have  been  to  see  Made 
moiselle  Elssler,  who  was  very  anxious  about 
her  first  performance,  which  takes  place  to 
morrow.  It  appears  that  the  musicians  and 
ballet  are  not  ready,  and  would  not  rehearse 
either  last  night  or  during  to-day,  on  account 
of  their  puritanic  notions  of  keeping  Sunday. 

I  have  taken  advantage  of  a  brightening  of 
the  sky  to  go  to  see  the  State  House,  a  large 
building  in  which  the  Senate  and  Representa 
tives  of  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  of  which 
Boston  is  the  capital,  meet.  From  the  cupola 
of  this  building  there  is  a  beautiful  panorama 
of  Boston  and  its  environs.  The  town  is 
situated  on  a  peninsula,  surrounded  by  the  sea 
and  connected  by  bridges  with  different  parts 
of  the  mainland,  where  there  are  several  small 
towns:  South  Boston,  containing  manufac- 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT.       1 29 

lories  and  public  establishments;  Cambridge, 
where  Howard  College  is — the  most  celebrated 
university  in  the  United  States,  with  six  hun 
dred  students;  Charlestown,  in  which  are  the 
State  Prison,  the  Insane  Hospital,  the  Navy 
gard,  and  Bunker  Hills,  a  monument  built  in 
memory  of  a  victory  over  the  English  on  June 
17,  1776.  There  are  in  Boston  a  great  many 
stores,  depots,  and  shops ;  docks,  where  in 
numerable  vessels  come  from  all  parts  of  the 
world  ;  and  four  railroads.  There  is  a  beauti 
ful  public  walk  in  the  centre  of  the  town,  well 
laid  out  with  trees,  and  near  it  the  commence 
ment  of  a  botanical  garden.  They  have  diffi 
culty  in  keeping  the  sea  from  encroaching 
on  it.  The  houses  surrounding  the  public 
grounds  are  built  of  granite,  and  in  many 
streets  the  area  are  rilled  with  flowers ;  and, 
to  complete  the  charm  of  this  city,  there  are 
no  hogs  to  be  seen  wandering  about  the 
streets,  as  in  other  cities  of  the  United  States. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  altogether  things  are 
better  here  than  in  other  places.  Society  is 
composed  of  a  sort  of  financial  aristocracy, 
well  brought  up,  religious,  and  honest.  There 
are  fifty-two  churches  in  the  city  and  suburbs, 


130      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

of  which  four  are  Catholic.  The  market  is 
clean  and  luxurious,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in 
length,  well  heated,  and  lit  with  gas.  The 
market-wpmen  are  dressed  with  an  approach 
to  elegance. 


XLIII. 

BOSTON,  September  7,  1840. 

THE  weather  has  changed  from  extreme 
heat  to  freezing.  We  saw  Mount  Auburn 
Cimetery  yesterday;  it  reminds  one  of  Pere- 
Lachaise.  This  cemetery  is  embellished  by 
superb  trees  and  lovely  avenues;  these  bear 
the  names  of  the  trees  with  which  they  are 
plant  e d — Cedar  A  veil ue,  Poplar  A  venue,  A  zelea 
Avenue.  The  tombs  are  on  the  right  and  left, 
placed  like  houses  on  a  street.  I  remarked 
that  of  Spurzheim,  the  disciple  of  Gall,  who 
died  in  Boston  in  1832. 

On  quitting  the  cemetery  we  went  to  Fresh 
Pond,  which  is  like  the  Pool  of  Saint-Gratien, 
in  the  valley  of  Montmorency.  From  there  to 
the  University,  which  is  called  Hoivard  Col 
lege*  a  Mr.  Hoivard  having  been  the  founder. 
*  Obviously  Harvard  College. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.       131 

Almost  all  the  public  institutions  here  are  in 
debted  to  private  individuals  of  wealth  for 
their  foundation ;  it  is  an  honorable  trait  in 
the  Yankee  character,  but  not  exempt  from 
ostentation.  The  University  occupies  a  large 
extent  of  ground.  The  buildings  are  hand 
some  and  the  gardens  charming. 

We  then  went  to  Charlestown,  where  the 
monument  of  Bunker  s  Hise  is  being  built,  on 
the  spot  where,  at  the  commencement  of  the 
War  for  Independence,  three  hundred  Ameri 
cans  defended  themselves  against  ten  thou 
sand  English.  This  monument  is  to  be  a  sim 
ple  obelisk  of  granite  in  the  middle  of  a 
grass-plat,  from  which  there  is  a  beautiful 
view.  For  want  of  funds  the  obelisk  has 
only  reached  to  one  third  of  its  intended 
height,  but  a  meeting  of  American  ladies  has 
been  called  to  propose  means  for  its  comple 
tion.  Near  by  is  the  convent  of  the  Benedic 
tines,  which  was  broken  into,  pillaged,  and 
burnt  by  the  Bostonians  three  years  ago,  from 
pure  curiosity  to  see  what  was  going  on  there, 
incited  by  the  most  absurd  stories.  The 
Bishop  of  Boston,  in  consequence  of  this,  sent 
the  nuns  to  their  principal  house  in  Canada. 


132      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

Afterward  he  claimed  damages  from  the  City 
of  Boston  and  from  the  Legislature  of  Massa 
chusetts.  On  their  refusal  he  declared  that 
he  would  leave  the  ruins  just  as  they  were. 
As  the  ground  belongs  to  the  Catholic  Church, 
he  had  the  right  to  do  as  he  pleased,  and  this 
determination  annoys  the  Protestants  very 
much,  because  all  strangers  view  these  ruins 
with  astonishment  and  ask  the  cause. 

After  dinner  I  took  a  walk  through  the 
streets,  which,  on  account  of  its  being  Sunday, 
were  almost  deserted ;  however,  the  chains 
which  formerly  closed  all  the  streets  to  pre 
vent  carriages  from  passing  during  Sunday, 
were  only  drawn  around  the  churches.  Boston 
is  perfectly  clean.  No  one  is  allowed  to  put 
any  dirt  on  the  public  highways ;  they  keep  it 
all  in  the  interior  of  their  houses,  and  the  city 
authorities  have  it  carried  away"6very  morning 
at  the  expense  of  the  city.  There  is  a  fine  of 
twenty-five  francs  for  smoking  in  the  streets. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      133 


XLIV. 

BOSTON,  September  10,  1840. 

THE  only  fault  of  Boston  in  my  eyes — but  it 
is  a  great  one — is  that  the  inhabitants  of  this 
elegant  and  charming  city  hate  the  French, 
and  what  is  worse,  they  despise  them.  They 
have  retained  the  inveterate  English  preju 
dices  of  two  centuries  ago  against  France,  and 
this  would  make  my  stay  here  for  any  length 
of  time  insupportable. 

We  went  to  Salem,  a  pretty  little  seaport 
town  near  which  the  first  Pilgrims  landed  in 
the  time  of  Charles  I.  The  whole  coast  is 
rocky.  There  is  a  maritime  museum  here, 
founded  forty  years  ago,  by  a  club  whose 
members  must  prove  that  they  have  doubled 
Cape  Horn  and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope;  con 
sequently  they  are  almost  all  captains  of  ves 
sels.  They  are  bound  to  bring  some  object 
of  antiquity  on  their  return  from  every  voy 
age,  and  deposit  it  in  the  museum,  which  has 
been  filled  in  this  way. 

The  Boston  ladies  hold  a  fair  to-day,  the 
proceeds  of  which  are  to  go  toward  the  com- 


134      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

pletion  of  the  monument  of  Bunker  s  Hise.  A 
gentleman  presented  to  this  fair  a  snuff-box 
which  he  pretends  to  have  bought  at  a  sale  of 
Prince  Talleyrand's  effects  in  Paris.  It  is  a 
worthless  box,  which  has  seen  much  service, 
and  has  a  corner  broken  off.  It  is  proposed 
to  buy  it,  and  present  it  to  a  Major  Russell, 
who  is  eighty-four  years  old,  and  is  said  to  have 
been  very  intimate  with  M.  de  Talleyrand.  I 
did  not  wish  to  destroy  the  value  of  this  box 
by  telling  them  that  M.  de  Talleyrand  never 
took  snuff. 


XLV. 

NEW  YORK,  September  n,  1840. 
WE  went  by  rail  yesterday  to  Providence, 
where  we  arrived  at  noon.  This  is  the  capital 
of  the  little  State  of  Rhode  Island.  It  is  a 
town  of  twenty  thousand  inhabitants,  beauti 
fully  situated  on  the  Providence  River,  thirty- 
five  miles  from  the  sea.  At  six  o'clock  we 
were  in  Stonington,  a  pretty  port  on  the 
ocean.  We  took  the  steamer,  and  at  eight 
o'clock  in  the  morning  arrived  at  New  York. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMA  T.       135 

At  noon  we  went  on  an  excursion  up  the 
Hudson  River.  After  having  visited  Barnham 
House  and  Stikers  Boy,  we  arrived  at  Monal- 
ton  City*  then  at  MacomVs  Dam,  on  the  East 
River,  and  there  we  saw  the  Croton  Aqueduct, 
which  is  being  built  to  bring  good  drinking- 
water  to  New  York,  where  now  there  is  not  a 
drop.  This  aqueduct  will  be  twenty-eight 
leagues  in  length,  and  will  not  be  finished  for 
three  or  four  years. 

On  my  return  to  New  York  I  went  to  see  a 
diorama  exhibited  by  some  Frenchmen  who 
had  asked  my  patronage. 


XLVI. 

NEW  YORK,  September  14,  1840. 
I    WENT   this    morning   to  see  the  grounds, 
six  miles  from  town,  on  which  preparations  are 
being  made  for  a  new    cemetery.     It  will  be 
like  a  magnificent  English  park.     The  Ameri 
cans  take  great  care  of  their  dead  ;  when  I  re 
marked  this  as   greatly  to    their  praise,  some 
one   said  it  was  not  a  question  of  sentiment, 
but  of  self-love.     On  the  highest  point  of  this 
*  Apparently  Manhattanville. 


136      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

cemetery,  which  will  be  called  "  Greenwood 
Cimetery"  there  is  a  level  piece  of  ground,  on 
which  it  is  proposed  to  erect  a  monument  in 
memory  of  General  Washington.  The  view 
from  this  point  is  certainly  the  most  beautiful 
in  the  whole  world. 

I  went  afterward  on  board  the  North  Caro 
lina,  an  American  man-of-war  and  school  for 
young  midshipmen  ;  I  was  requested  in  Paris  to 
obtain  information  about  this  school.  I  have 
examined  into  the  subject  thoroughly. 

I  have  also  visited  the  penitentiary ;  the 
situation  is  so  charming  that  it  has  been 
named  Mount  pleasant 's  Penitentiary.  It  is  a 
kind  of  fortress  on  an  island  in  the  East  River ; 
there  are  three  hundred  men  and  four  hun 
dred  and  fifty  women  there,  who  are  made  to 
work,  but  not  much  ;  it  is  more  like  a  house 
of  improvement  than  of  correction.  Sixteen 
keepers  are  sufficient  to  keep  these  seven  or 
eight  hundred  prisoners  in  order.  The  man 
who  acted  as  my  guide,  a  true  American,  gave 
it  as  his  opinion  that  it  would  require  a  regi 
ment  of  the  line  to  restrain  so  many  prisoners 
in  our  country.  He  said  that  most  of  them 
were  Germans,  and  was  very  much  confused 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.       137 

to  find  that  not  one  of  those  to  whom  I  spoke 
their  supposed  language  could  understand  me, 
but  answered  in  English,  saying  they  were 
Americans.  My  conductor  confided  to  me 
that  the  women  were  much  more  difficult  to 
manage  than  the  men  ;  they  tried  their  powers 
of  fascination  on  the  jailers.  The  stamp  of 
crime  was  more  pronounced  on  the  faces  of 
these  wretches  than  in  Europe.  Doctor  Benit, 
who  came  with  me,  examined  them  from  the 
phrenological  point  of  view  with  great  inter 
est. 


XLVII. 

PHILADELPHIA,  September  24,  1840. 
WE  left  New  York  on  the  iQth,  on  a  large 
steamboat,  which  carried  us  to  South  Amboy, 
where  we  took  the  railroad,  which  brought 
us  to  Bordentown  on  the  Delaware.  In  this 
pretty  little  town  are  the  house  and  grounds  of 
Joseph  Bonaparte.  The  steamboat  took  us 
down  the  Delaware  River  to  Philadelphia,  pass 
ing  Bristol  in  Pennsylvania  and  Burlington  in 
New  Jersey. 


138      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

I  dined  the  day  after  my  arrival  with  our 
Consul,  M.  d'Hauterive  ;  there  was  no  one 
but  his  wife,  and  a  Doctor  Laroche,  a  Creole 
of  Saint-Domingo  and  nephew  of  Madame 
Cigogne.  Madame  d'Hauterive  seems  to  be  a 
mild,  good  little  woman.  Brought  up  at  the 
Sacred  Heart  in  Paris,  she  talked  of  nothing 
but  Monsignor  de  Quelen,  Madame  de  Gra. 
mont,  and  Madame  Marbceuf.  After  dinner 
we  all  went  to  Madame  Cigogne's,  whose  house 
is  elegant  and  the  society  select ;  it  is  very  curi 
ous  to  see  a  mistress  of  a  boarding-school  in 
such  a  position.  The  whole  evening  v/as 
passed  in  relating  amusing  anecdotes  of  the 
Quakers.  These  ladies  are  not  at  all  prudish. 

I  have  seen  the  Exchange,  which  is  curious 
ly  arranged  ;  there  is  a  large  hall,  where  are 
newspapers  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  The 
whole  appearance  is  more  elegant  than  at  New 
York. 

I  went  with  M.  d'Hauterive  to  see  a  dam 
which  has  been  constructed  on  the  river 
Shuylkill,  about  three  miles  from  the  town, 
from  which  the  water  is  raised  into  reservoirs 
by  an  admirable  machine ;  from  there  it  is 
taken  in  pipes  to  Philadelphia  and  into  each 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT.       139 

house.  It  is  a  superb  work,  executed  on  a 
grand  scale. 

We  then  went  to  Girard  College,  which  is 
not  far  off.  Girard  was  a  workman  of  Bor 
deaux  ;  he  made  an  immense  fortune  here,  and 
left  by  his  will  thirty  million  francs  for  the  im 
provement  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  He 
drew  the  plan  of  this  college  himself,  which  is 
to  be  built  entirely  of  white  marble,  and  pre 
scribed  all  the  details,  with  penalty  of  forfeit 
ure  of  the  bequest  if  not  strictly  conformed 
to. 

We  went  the  same  day  to  Laurel  Hill 
Cimetery,  the  appearance  of  which  is  not  at  all 
gloomy  or  severe  ;  it  is  more  like  a  garden  laid 
out  for  public  amusements  than  a  cemetery. 

I  went  through  the  Philadelphia  shops  to 
day  ;  they  are  as  well  supplied  as  those  of 
London  and  Paris.  I  saw  some  magnificent 
antique  porcelain  from  China. 

I  was  introduced  to  two  old  men,  who  inter 
ested  me  very  much — M.  du  Ponceau,  eighty- 
four  years  old,  blind  and  deaf,  but  who  related 
the  most  amusing  anecdotes  with  infinite  wit 
and  humor;  and  Mr.  Vaughan,  a  little  man  of 
eighty  years  of  age,  who  thinks  himself  but 


I4O      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

forty,  and  it  is  said  makes  the  ladies  think  so 
too.  "  Full  of  life  and  gallantry  !" 

I  visited  the  Blind  Asylum.  It  is  conducted 
on  the  French  and  German  plan,  and  is  per 
fectly  managed.  The  director,  thinking  to  do 
me  a  great  honor,  made  the  pupils  play  die 
Marseillaise  on  my  entrance  to  the  hall ;  they 
played  so  well  that  I  really  enjoyed  it.  There 
is  a  young  man  there  who  had  been  brought 
up  in  Paris,  and  who  had  asked  to  be  received 
as  a  guest.  He  came  to  the  United  States 
eight  years  ago  to  make  his  fortune,  and  he 
did  it,  blind  as  he  was ;  he  worked  in  a  com 
mercial  establishment  on  the  Mississippi,  and 
is  here  now  on  their  business.  This  poor 
young  man  interested  me  very  strongly,  and 
also  amused  me  very  much  by  relating  his 
efforts  to  persuade  the  director  not  to  have 
the  Marseillaise  played. 

Doctor  Benit  is  in  ecstasies  since  our  visit  to 
the  Pensylvania  Hospital  founded  by  Penn. 
They  receive  there,  in  three  separate  buildings, 
the  wounded,  the  women  about  to  be  con 
fined,  and  the  lunatics.  Every  particular  is  at 
tended  to  in  a  manner  unknown  in  Europe  : 
the  beds  are  perfect,  the  costumes  of  the 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT.       14! 

patients  are  elegant,  and  the  linen  very  fine  ; 
there  are  carpets  on  all  the  rooms,  and  even  on 
the  stairs.  The  air  is  changed  constantly,  and 
scented  with  sweet  and  agreeable  perfumes. 
One  could  lodge  there  with  comfort  and 
pleasure.  I  found  amongst  the  lunatics  a 
Frenchman,  Captain  Poirier,  Chevalier  de 
Saint-Louis,  and  officer  of  the  Legion  of 
Honor.  He  had  served  in  the  Thirty-fifth  of 
the  line,  in  which  my  brother  formerly  served  ; 
when  I  mentioned  this  to  him  he  recollected 
him  perfectly  well,  and  talked  with  me  very 
reasonably  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  He  had 
been,  under  the  Restoration,  suspected  of  hav 
ing  connections  with  conspirators,  and  was  put 
on  half-pay.  He  then  came  to  a  free  country 
that  he  might  grumble  at  his  ease  against  his 
own.  Always  posing  as  a  victim,  he  kept  him 
self  in  a  constant  state  of  excitement — so 
much  so  that  he  lost  his  mind,  and  the  French 
Consul  was  obliged  to  have  him  shut  up  in  this 
asylum,  where  the  French  Government  has 
paid  his  board  for  seven  years. 


142      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 


XLVIII. 

PHILADELPHIA,  September  26,  1840. 

THE  day  before  yesterday  I  rose  very  early 
that  I  might  see  the  superb  market  in  High 
Street,  which  is  a  mile  in  length,  at  its  busiest 
time :  it  is  covered  and  arranged  in  the  most 
convenient  manner ;  almost  all  the  fruits  and 
vegetables  we  see  in  Europe  are  there,  with 
those  of  America.  The  peaches  are  enormous, 
but  not  so  good  as  ours ;  in  their  gardens 
which  are  not  carefully  cultivated,  everything 
is  abundant  and  cheap.  There  were  more 
men  than  women  buying  their  provisions.  In 
the  United  States,  good  housekeepers  of  the 
middle  classes  stay  at  home  as  much  as  pos 
sible,  and  do  not  trust  their  helps, — it  is  thus 
they  call  their  servants, — to  spend  the  money 
for  household  expenses ;  so  you  see  perfectly 
well-dressed  men  carrying  vegetables  in  a 
handkerchief  in  one  hand  and  a  leg  of  mutton 
in  the  other. 

I  have  breakfasted  with  my  two  amiable 
old  men :  they  talked  of  past  times,  of  the 
American  wars  in  which  both  had  taken  an 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.       143 

active  part.  Old  Vaughan  had  been  the 
Secretary  of  Legation  of  Franklin,  and  was 
presented  to  Queen  Marie  Antoinette ;  the 
ladies  of  Versailles  cried  out  in  astonish 
ment,  "  Oh !  they  are  dressed  like  French 
men."  No  doubt  they  expected  to  see 
Hurons.  They  showed  me  the  Athenaeum 
Library  where  they  spend  most  of  their  time, 
and  have  promised  to  give  me  a  letter  of 
Franklin's  and  one  of  Penn's,  the  founder  of 
Pensylvania  and  of  Philadelphia. 

I  have  seen  the  tomb  of  Franklin  in  an  old 
burying-ground ;  on  a  tombstone  lying  flat  on 
the  ground  are  simply  cut  these  words : 

"  Benjamin  and  Deborah  Franklin,  1790." 
Husband  and  wife  died  the  same  year. 

The  Chinese  Museum  in  Philadelphia  is  the 
most  curious  thing  of  the  kind  that  ever 
existed  :  it  is  composed  of  groups  of  Chinese 
of  life  size  and  so  well  made  that  one  would 
take  them  for  living  beings ;  the  costumes 
and  the  attitude  are  truly  striking,  and  every 
thing  about  them,  the  furniture  and  articles 
which  they  manufacture,  are  so  arranged  as  to 
represent  the  interior  of  a  Chinese  home. 

I  went  yesterday,  accompanied  as   usual  by 


144      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

Doctor  Benit,  to  see  the  Alms-house,  a  refuge 
for  beggars,  which  has  cost  five  millions  to  es 
tablish,  and  seven  or  eight  hundred  thousand  a 
year  to  maintain,  for  the  board  and  lodging  of 
fifteen  hundred  paupers,  who  find  themselves 
as  well  off  as  if  each  had  ten  thousand  francs 
income.  And  yet  almost  all  these  people 
have  been  brought  there  by  their  misconduct 
and  intemperance  and  have  a  most  degraded 
look ;  but  a  government  founded  on  equality 
cannot  pay  too  dear  for  the  luxury  with  which 
it  surrounds  these  old  libertines. 

From  this  splendid  edifice  we  went  to  the 
"  Naval  Hospital,"  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
ShuylkilL  The  secretary  of  the  house,  who 
was  kind  enough  to  take  us  all  through  it, 
explained  the  uselessness  of  it ;  this  establish 
ment,  which  ought  to  be  the  "  Hotel  des 
Invalides"  of  all  the  marine  of  the  United 
States,  as  it  belongs  to  the  Federal  Govern 
ment,  can  accommodate  two  hundred  veterans, 
but  there  are  only  about  twenty  here,  the  old 
sailors  prefer  to  drink  and  live  in  poverty 
rather  than  have  every  comfort  and  be  obliged 
to  live  governed  by  fixed  rules.  In  this  Hos 
pital  the  money  has  been  thrown  away,  and 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT.       145 

the  whole  plan  has  been  badly  carried  out. 
Louis  XIV.,  at  the  Invalides  and  England  at 
Greenwich  have  done  much  better. 


XLIX. 

PHILADELPHIA,  September  28,  1840. 

MR.  VAUGHAN  came  to  see  me  yesterday, 
and  told  me  all  kinds  of  anecdotes  of  M.  de 
Talleyrand,  M.  de  Liancourt,  M.  de  Beaumetz, 
M.  de  Noailles,  and  King  Louis  Philippe, 
whom  he  saw  every  evening  at  Mr.  Bingham's, 
Lady  Ashburton's  father.  Mr.  Vaughan's 
brother  received  M.  de  Talleyrand's  letters  in 
London  and  sent  them  to  him  in  America. 
Vaughan  told  me  of  several  speculations  which 
M.  de  Talleyrand  had  wished  to  make  in  the 
United  States,  and  which  had  great  promise  of 
success.  He  took  me  to  the  Franklin  Insti 
tute,  where  they  have  lectures  on  mechanics 
every  day;  any  one  may  attend,  and  even 
workmen  may  receive  instruction  there  by 
paying  a  very  small  annual  contribution. 

We  then  went  to  the  State  Penitentiary,  a 
famous  institution,  where  the  solitary  confine' 


146      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

ment  has  been  established  for  the  first  time. 
Messrs.  De  Tocqueville  and  De  Beaumont 
describe  it  minutely  in  their  work  on  the 
Penitentiary  system  ;  they  took  up  their  abode 
there  for  fifteen  days.  It  is  a  fortress  like 
that  of  Vincennes,  of  an  amful  aspect.  I  was 
shown  everything  in  detail  and  allowed  to 
talk  freely  to  the  prisoners,  who  are  con 
demned  to  perfect  silence.  Each  one  I  talked 
to  declared  he  was  innocent. 

I  have  also  seen  the  home  of  refuge  for 
juvenile  delinquents.  They  reform  boys  and 
girls  under  eighteen  years  old  with  great 
success. 

In  the  evening  I  went  to  Madame  Cigogne's, 
where  I  found  about  a  dozen  persons:  they 
said  that  when  King  Louis  Philippe  was  in 
Philadelphia  he  was  very  attentive  to  a  Miss 
Perkins,  who  resembled  very  much  our  Queen 
Ame"lie. 

Mr.  Toland  took  me  this  morning  to  see 
the  Mansion  House,  which  was  formerly  the 
residence  of  Mr.  Bingham,  and  is  now  a  hotel. 
He  then  took  me  to  the  end  of  a  blind  alley, 
and  showed  me  a  miserable-looking  house  oc 
cupied  by  a  German  baker  named  Brescht. 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT.       147 

M.  de  Talleyrand  lived  in  this  house  during 
his  stay  in  Philadelphia. 

Last  night  I  went  to  the  Athenaeum  Library ; 
this  is  Mr.  Vaughan's  reception-room.  He 
brings  people  here  every  Friday  to  converse, 
and  during  the  winter  to  play  whist.  I  met 
old  Du  Ponceau  here,  who  related  a  thousand 
silly  things  about  M.  de  Talleyrand  which  he 
got  from  Joseph  Bonaparte,  who  was  only  too 
glad  to  put  any  of  his  brother  the  Grand 
Emperor's  follies  on  him.  Luckily  I  knew  all 
about  it,  and  was  able  to  give  the  true  story. 

At  the  Athenaeum  I  made  the  acquaintance 
of  Mr.  Bidole,  whose  name  as  a  financier  has 
been  so  well  known.  As  President  of  the 
Bank  of  the  United  States  he  struggled  for 
several  years  against  General  Jakson. 

I  intended  leaving  to-morrow,  but  De  la  Fo 
rest  and  D'Hauterive  have  so  urgently  begged 
me  to  remain  for  the  Grand  Mass  of  Haydn,  in 
which  Madame  d'Hauterive  sings,  that  out  of 
politeness  I  have  decided  to  stay. 


148      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 


BALTIMORE,  September  30,  1840. 

THE  Grand  Mass,  with  the  music  of  Madame 
d'Hauterive  and  company,  lasted  nearly  four 
hours,  thanks  to  a  Jesuit  who  delivered  a 
sermon  of  an  hour  and  a  half  in  honor  of 
Saint  Ignatius  of  Loyola.  It  was  the  birthday 
of  this  Saint,  whose  whole  history  he  told  us 
without  pity ;  he  then  spoke  of  the  misfor 
tunes,  successes,  and  prosperity  of  the  Jesuits. 
I  learned  that  in  olden  times  they  numbered 
thirty  thousand!  What  an  army!  there  are 
only  one  tenth  of  them  left  now. 

I  left  Philadelphia  yesterday  at  eight  o'clock 
in  the  morning  by  the  "  Susquehanna  Rail 
road."  Four  miles  from  Philadelphia  there  is 
an  inclined  plane  rising  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
seven  feet,  up  which  the  cars  are  drawn  by 
ropes  with  pulleys ;  travellers  prefer  gener 
ally  to  walk  up,  just  as  they  do  when  travel 
ling  in  diligences.  The  descent  is  into  a 
charming  valley,  through  which  we  travelled 
seventy  miles  to  Columbia,  where  I  slept. 
This  valley,  or  rather  plain,  which  is  immense, 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT.       149 

is  the  richest  and  most  beautiful  part  of  Penn 
sylvania  ;  it  is  undulating,  wooded,  and  culti 
vated.  There  are  no  towns  or  villages  on  the 
road,  but  only  scattered  dwellings,  most  beau 
tifully  located.  All  this  country  has  been 
peopled  and  cultivated  by  Germans ;  some 
even  to  the  third  generation  still  talk  in 
German.  Lanscastcr,  which  we  passed  through, 
is  a  very  short  distance  from  Colombia,  and  is 
inhabited  entirely  by  Germans. 

After  leaving  Colombia  this  morning  I  saw 
a  range  of  mountains,  the  commencement  of 
the  Alleghanys,  which  separate  the  Atlantic 
States  from  the  Western.  We  crossed  the 
Susqiiehana  on  a  wooden  covered  bridge  one 
mile  and  a  half  long.  This  bridge  does  great 
credit  to  the  American  engineer  who  built  it. 
We  passed  near  the  city  of  York,  and  went 
through  a  different  country  from  that  we 
travelled  yesterday,  but  equally  pretty  of  its 
kind ;  the  most  picturesque  woods,  fields, 
rocks,  and  streams,  with  a  most  glorious  sun 
gilding  the  leaves  just  beginning  to  turn 
yellow.  While  enjoying  this  charming  view 
we  arrived  in  Baltimore. 


1 50     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMA  T. 


LI. 

WASHINGTON,  October  5,  1840. 

I  HAVE  just  paid  my  first  visit  to  Mr.  For- 
syth,  who  is  sick,  nervous,  and  irritable.  The 
prospects  of  the  coming  election  are  not  favor 
able  to  the  present  Administration,  and  in 
crease  his  irritability;  he  is  a  man  of  intelli 
gence,  but  one  who  affects  never  to  speak  seri 
ously.  He  is  always  trying  to  entrap  one  in 
conversation,  and  turn  everything  into  ridicule ; 
he  is  both  tiresome  and  disagreeable. 

I  also  went  to  see  the  President,  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  who  is  living  at  a  country  place  four 
miles  from  here.  He  is  also  suffering  and  un 
easy  :  I  am  sorry  that  his  chances  for  re-elec 
tion  are  so  bad ;  it  would  be  better  to  retain 
him  than  risk  an  unknown  person.  Besides,  I 
think  he  is  very  well  disposed  toward  France, 
and  is  very  courteous  to  me.  His  politeness  is 
perfect :  it  is  the  perfect  imitation  of  a  gentle 
man. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 


LIL 

WASHINGTON,  October  10,  i84b. 
ON  the  6th,  M.  de  Lafosse,  M.  Montholon, 
and  I  left  here  for  Alexandria  at  nine  o'clock 
in  the  morning;  we  dined  there  and  after  a 
two  hours'  ride  over  the  most  abominable  road 
arrived  at  the  entrance  to  Mount  Vernon  Park; 
we  crossed  this  park,  which  is  very  badly  kept, 
on  foot.  At  first  we  were  refused  entrance  to 
the  house.  I  sent  in  my  card,  and  we  were  im 
mediately  received  by  Mrs.  Washington,  widow 
of  General  Washington's  nephew.  This  lady 
was  very  polite,  and  immediately  offered  us 
refreshments,  which  we  did  not  accept.  She 
then  showed  us  a  key  of  the  Bastille  and  a  pic 
ture  of  it  taken  at  the  time  of  its  destruction ; 
these  were  sent  to  General  Washington  by 
General  Lafayette.  She  also  showed  us  a  bust 
of  General  Lafayette  presented  by  him,  and 
one  of  General  Washington,  the  cast  for  which 
was  taken  from  his  body  after  death  ;  an  en 
graving  of  Louis  XVI.;  the  library  of  General 
Washington,  and  the  Bible  he  was  in  the  habit 
of  reading.  These  are  the  curiosities  and 


I$2      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

relics  which  are  in  her  possession.  She  then 
gave  us  in  charge  of  a  dirty  oily  negress  to 
take  us  to  see  the  tomb  of  the  General,  which 
is  at  the  end  of  the  garden  in  a  low  place.  It 
is  a  vault  built  of  brick,  before  which  is  an  arch 
protected  by  iron  railings  ;  under  this  arch  are 
two  tombs  in  white  marble ;  on  one  is  the 
name  of  the  General  surmounted  by  his  arms  ; 
on  the  other  the  name  of  his  wife.  An  inscrip 
tion  on  one  side  of  the  tomb  of  the  General 
indicates  that  this  sarcophagus  was  presented 
to  the  family  of  the  deceased  by  a  marble-cut 
ter  of  Philadelphia.  All  this  is  as  shabby  as 
possible :  the  park  is  overgrown  with  weeds, 
the  tomb  is  ugly  and  mean-looking,  the  house 
tumbling  down ;  everything  dirty  and  in  a 
miserable  condition ;  and  the  appearance  of 
Mrs.  Washington  is  pitiable.  The  country 
ought  to  do  something  for  a  place  which  grati 
tude  should  make  sacred  in  their  eyes,  and  for 
a  family  whose  evident  poverty  is  a  stigma  on 
the  United  States.  Mount  Vernon  is  beauti 
fully  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac; 
the  house  overlooks  the  country,  and  opposite 
is  Fort  Washington,  which  is  very  imposing.  It 
would  cost  very  little  to  give  this  resting-place 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.       153 

of  General  Washington  the  dignity  which  is 
due  to  it.  He  was  the  greatest  man  of  the 
country,  and  the  only  brilliant  point  in  Ameri 
can  history.  The  United  States  owe  their  ex 
istence  and  prosperity  to  his  genius,  and  he  lies 
forgotten  amidst  uncultivated  bushes,  and  near 
his  house,  which  will  soon  be  in  ruins ! 

I  will  now  give  you  a  perfectly  true  history, 
which  is  very  little  known,  and  very  dishonor 
able  to  the  English.  After  the  fatal  peace  of 
1753,  by  which  France  ceded  a  great  part  of 
Canada,  and  with  it  Acadia,  to  England,  the 
English  Government  began  by  changing  the 
name  Acadia  to  Nova  Scotia,  which  name  it 
still  bears;  then  in  1755  they  published  an 
order,  that  all  the  inhabitants  without  excep 
tion  should  go  on  September  5  to  certain 
places  in  different  parts  of  the  country.  They 
went  there,  not  suspecting  the  purpose  for 
which  they  were  sent,  and  to  avoid  the  punish 
ment  with  which  they  were  threatened  if  they 
failed  to  obey.  The  different  gatherings  were 
then  informed  that  by  a  decree  of  the  British 
Government  all  their  property  of  whatever 
kind  was  confiscated  to  the  Crown  of  England; 
that  they  would  be  allowed  to  take  with  them 


154      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

only  their  ready  money  and  clothes,  and  must 
quit  the  country,  and  be  transported  into  the 
farthest  point  in  Canada.  The  day  for  their 
departure — that  is  to  say,  five  days  after  the 
publication  of  September  10 — the  troops  were 
ordered  out  to  force  those  who  were  unwilling 
to  go :  first  they  took  the  young  and  strong 
men,  making  them  march  at  the  head  of  the 
first  convoy ;  the  women,  old  men,  and  children 
followed ;  some  of  the  most  determined  fled 
into  the  depths  of  the  forests  near  the  river 
Saint-Jean,  a  region  heretofore  unexplored. 
The  executers  of  this  barbarous  order  were  un 
moved  by  their  prayers  and  tears,  and  eighteen 
thousand  Frenchmen  were  thus  torn  from 
their  fertile  and  well-cultivated  lands,  despoiled 
of  all  they  possessed,  separated  from  their 
families, — for  they  divided  them  into  bands 
without  taking  into  account  the  ties  which 
bound  them  together, — and  carried  into  the 
most  remote  provinces.  Humiliated,  poor,  and 
in  despair,  they  were  thrown  in  the  midst  of 
Protestants,  enemies  of  their  religion,  their  coun- 
try,  and  their  manners,  customs,  etc.,  without 
knowing  the  fate  of  those  from  whom  they  were 
separated  or  the  least  hope  of  ever  seeing  them. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      1 55 

There  is  a  very  curious  fact  attached  to  this 
lamentable  history :  some  of  these  unhappy 
people,  as  I  told  you  before,  escaped  on  the 
shores  of  the  river  Saint-Jean,  and  no  more 
was  heard  of  them  until  fifty  years  after,  when 
England  and  the  United  States  were  disputing 
their  boundaries  in  Canada,  it  became  neces 
sary  to  explore  those  parts  of  the  country  men 
tioned  in  the  Treaty  of  1783,  by  which  Eng 
land  acknowledged  the  independence  of  the 
United  States.  In  1803  some  English  and 
American  engineers  went  to  the  river  Saint- 
Jean  to  seek  traces  of  the  boundaries  fixed  by 
the  treaty;  and  this  doubtful  boundary  is  a 
matter  of  dispute  to  this  day,  and  may  cause 
a  war  between  these  two  countries.  You  may 
imagine  the  astonishment  of  these  engineers  to 
find  in  a  country  always  thought  to  be  unin 
habited  a  population  of  ten  or  twelve  hundred 
Frenchmen,  whose  existence  was  unknown  to 
the  whole  world.  They  had  retained  their 
customs  and  religion,  and  during  a  half  cen 
tury  the  Catholic  clergy  had  sent  them  priests, 
and  had  kept  the  secret  of  their  retreat  so  well 
that  no  one  in  England  or  the  United  States 
suspected  their  existence.  After  their  discov- 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

ery  some  retired  into  the  forests,  where  they 
are  still ;  others  went  to  the  United  States  or 
into  the  English  possessions. 

I  saw  Mr.  Poinsett,  the  Minister  of  War, 
yesterday.  He  is  a  very  sensible  and  intelli 
gent  man,  and  I  shall  regret  him  more  than  any 
one  in  the  Administration,  which  seems  to  be 
cidedly  lost ;  everything  seems  to  announce 
the  defeat  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  and  the  success 
of  General  Harrison.  This  change  will  make 
no  difference  in  the  foreign  politics  of  the 
country,  but  will  probably  have  a  very  bad 
influence  on  the  financial  situation ;  neither 
party  seems  to  worry  about  it,  and  only  care  to 
win  the  election  without  thinking  of  what  it 
may  cost :  this  is  how  they  understand  the 
love  of  one's  country. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      1 57 


LIII. 

WASHINGTON,  September  19,  1840. 

NOTWITHSTANDING  the  sadness  that  pre 
vails  here,  the  nights  are  so  noisy  that  one  can 
scarcely  sleep  :  there  is  a  continual  uproar,  the 
reason  for  which  is  that  the  inhabitants  all  own 
cows  and  pigs  but  no  stables,  and  these  animals 
wander  about  all  day  and  night  through  the 
city,  and  go  to  their  owners'  houses  only  in  the 
morning  and  evening  to  be  fed ;  the  women 
milk  their  cows  on  the  sidewalk  and  sprinkle 
the  passers-by.  The  nocturnal  wanderings  of 
these  beasts  create  an  infernal  racket,  in  which 
they  are  joined  by  dogs  and  cats.  An  Ameri 
can  to  whom  I  expressed  my  astonishment  at 
this  state  of  things,  and  particularly  at  the 
freedom  allowed  the  pigs  in  all  the  towns  of 
the  United  States,  said  that  nothing  was  more 
convenient  or  conducive  to  health;  that  with 
out  the  aid  of  these  animals  the  towns  would 
be  encumbered  with  filth  of  all  kinds. 

I  went  with  M.  de  la  Fosse  to  see  the  Falls 
of  the  Potomac :  we  travelled  for  four  hours 
over  the  rockiest  roads.  These  dark  imbedded 


153      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

rocks  produced  a  wonderful  effect,  but  the  Falls 
were  very  poor — mere  threads  of  limpid  water 
running  down  these  imposing  black  masses  of 
rock.  The  path  which  leads  to  the  Falls  is 
dangerous :  one  is  obliged  to  pass  from  one 
rock  to  another  on  boards  that  are  not  safe, 
and  through  bushes  filled  with  snakes. 

I  was  just  going  to  bed  last  night  when 
Colonel  Achille  Murat,  the  son  of  the  former 
King  of  Naples,  was  announced  ;  he  married 
an  American  and  lives  in  Florida.  He  was  in 
Paris  last  year  and  saw  the  King ;  he  wishes 
to  return  to  France  to  look  after  some  claims 
he  has  there,  and  begged  me  to  announce  his 
coming  to  my  Government.  His  bearing  is 
certainly  not  royal :  he  is  small  and  fat,  with 
a  protruding  stomach,  and  wears  gold  specta 
cles,  with  more  the  appearance  of  a  notary 
than  of  a  Prince.  However,  they  say  he  is 
very  energetic :  he  is  a  colonel  of  militia,  has 
been  a  lawyer,  a  judge,  and  a  notary,  and  has 
had  during  his  varied  life  numerous  duels. 
He  says  that  the  State  of  Florida  has  been 
ravaged  for  four  or  five  years  past  by  a  band 
of  fifteen  hundred  Indians,  who  have  kept  the 
whole  army  of  the  United  States  in  check. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT.       I  59 

This  tribe,  called  Seminoles,  and  renowned  for 
their  ferocity,  commit  all  kinds  of  atrocities : 
no  one  ever  knows  where  they  are ;  they  fall 
unexpectedly  on  the  homes  of  the  planters,  and 
massacre  every  one  there  without  mercy.  The 
inhabitants  barricade  themselves  every  night, 
and  M.  Murat  makes  his  negroes  mount  guard 
by  turns.  He  has  left  his  wife  alone  there,  and 
will  be  absent  more  than  a  year ;  he  says  jok 
ingly  that  until  now  she  has  been  his  lieu 
tenant,  but  has  been  promoted  to  the  cap 
taincy.  The  most  of  the  planters  have  im 
ported  bloodhounds  of  an  immense  size  from 
the  Havanas.  These  dogs  are  noted  for  their 
acute  scent  and  love  of  blood ;  they  eat  the 
Indians!  Charming  country  to  live  in  ! 

Two  days  ago  I  went  for  the  first  time  to 
a  ball,  in  Washington,  at  the  house  of  Mrs. 
Meade,  a  Catholic,  and  very  highly  thought  of 
here.  I  care  very  little  for  American  parties. 
The  mistress  of  the  house  is  polite,  but  very 
common ;  she  has  three  daughters,  one  of 
whom  was  married  fifteen  days  ago.  These 
women  are  badly  brought  up,  badly  dressed, 
and  their  hair  badly  arranged  ;  they  are  third- 
rate  English.  I  will  make  one  exception  and 


l6o      RECOLLECTIONS.  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

only  one — in  favor  of  the  daughter-in-law  of 
Mr.  Van  Buren,  whose  acquaintance  I  made 
at  this  ball :  in  any  country  she  would  be  con 
sidered  an  agreeable  woman,  graceful  and 
distinguished  in  manners.  The  Diplomatic 
Corps  were  there,  and  the  best  society  of  Wash 
ington.  The  reception-rooms  were  composed 
of  two  parlors  made  into  one  by  large  sliding- 
doors,  much  in  use  here,  and  a  long  and  nar 
row  gallery  resembling  a  corridor,  lined  with 
frightful  paintings,  and  at  the  end  of  this  gal 
lery  the  music,  such  as  you  would  expect  to 
find  at  a  low  tavern,  perched  on  a  platform  ; 
there  was  scarcely  any  light,  and  the  whole  ap 
pearance  was  pitiable.  For  refreshments,  ices 
and  Madeira  wine — nothing  more  :  so  much 
the  worse  for  those  who  were  hungry  ;  I  beg  to 
say  distinctly  that  I  was  not.  And  this  is  the 
most  fashionable  house  in  Washington. 

The  affair  of  Lafarge  and  Leotaud  is  much 
talked  of  here.  You  have  no  idea  how  much 
harm  we  do  ourselves  abroad  by  the  publicity 
we  give  to  these  affairs,  and  particularly  in  a 
democratic  country  like  this :  they  rush  after 
the  French  papers,  and  rejoice  in  probing  this 
wound  in  the  heart  of  our  society.  These 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.       l6l 

people  who  would  like  to  destroy  all  social 
distinctions  which  cannot  profit  them,  desire 
to  attach  themselves  to  the  English  nobility, 
but  will  not  admit  the  nobility  of  other 
nations ;  and  their  great  interest  in  the  Lafarge 
affair  is  not  the  assassination  of  the  bourgeois 
husband  by  the  bourgeoise  wife,  but  the  history 
of  the  diamonds  which  soil  the  names  of  Nico- 
la'i  and  Leotaud. 

The  Morel  affair  is  still  remembered  and 
talked  over  with  malicious  pleasure,  and  they 
draw  the  conclusion  from  these  low  crimes 
— thank  God  very  rare — that  our  morals  are 
frightful  and  our  young  girls  badly  brought  up  ! 
This  is  painful  to  hear  when  far  from  home. 


1 62      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 


LIV. 

THE  King  having  charged  me  to  remember 
him  to  General  Masson,  and  to  assure  him  of 
his  feelings  of  friendship  toward  him,  I  went 
three  days  ago  with  M.  de  Montholon  to  see 
him  at  his  country  place,  twelve  miles  from 
here.  This  old  gentleman  was  the  King's 
guide  in  this  part  of  the  United  States  forty 
odd  years  ago.  His  wife  received  us,  and  he 
came  in  soon  after,  followed  by  his  six  daugh 
ters,  dressed  in  black.  They  were  all  very 
agreeable,  and  what  was  astonishing,  pro 
digious,  enormous,  they  pressed  us  to  stay  to 
dinner — a  politeness  unknown  to  Americans, 
who  never  admit  any  one  to  their  table  with 
out  having  made  their  preparations  long  time 
before,  and  drilled  their  negroes  and  negresses. 
An  impromptu  invitation  was  a  great  proof  of 
their  good-will.  I  refused,  but  promised  to 
come  some  other  time.  The  good  General, 
who  is  sixty -five  years  old,  begged  me  to 
thank  the  King  for  his  gracious  remembrance  ; 
he  was  transported  with  joy  and  gratitude. 

I  passed   an  evening  tete-a-tete  with   poor 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      163 

Mr.  Van  Buren,  who  considers  his  election  lost, 
and  attributes  it  to  corruption  and  election 
frauds.  He  is  right,  but  forgets  that  his  party 
did  the  same  thing  on  another  occasion. 

I  went  to  see  Mr.  Paulding,  the  Secretary 
of  the  Navy,  to  thank  him  for  information  he 
had  given  me.  I  found  him  surrounded  by  a 
very  common  set  of  people.  The  conversa 
tion  turned  upon  the  attraction  of  American 
young  misses.  According  to  these  good  peo 
ple,  every  stranger  must  fall  in  love  with  them. 
A  poor  devil  of  a  bachelor  like  myself  can  go 
nowhere  without  hearing  this  tempting  refrain. 

M.  Miollet  showed  me  a  very  pretty  map  of 
the  sources  of  the  Mississippi,  which  he  had 
worked  at  for  several  years.  He  informed  me 
that  Carolina  had  been  named  by  Frenchmen, 
who  had  established  the  first  colony  there 
under  Admiral  Coligny,  who  called  it  Carolina, 
after  Charles  II.  As  to  Virginia,  it  has  for 
etymology  the  virginity  of  Queen  Elizabeth  of 
England  ! ! ! 

I  went  last  night  to  see  Mr.  Poinsett,  Secre 
tary  of  War.  He  has  travelled  a  great  deal, 
and  has  not  the  prejudices  of  his  compatriots, 
who  believe  in  the  absolute  perfection  of  the 


164      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

American  Constitution,  notwithstanding  which 
its  reputation  receives  some  rude  attacks  from 
all  sides.  M.  de  Tocqueville's  book  is  in  great 
danger  of  being  thought  nothing  but  a  fabu 
lous  romance.  The  newspapers  are  filled  with 
accounts  of  the  most  scandalous  electoral 
frauds ;  the  two  parties  who  are  contending 
accuse  each  other,  and  both  with  undeniable 
proofs.  The  moral  corruption  is  equal  to  the 
political  corruption.  It  is  curious  to  see  the 
gradual  destruction  of  all  these  beautiful  insti 
tutions,  which  they  wish  to  impose  on  us  in 
Europe,  at  the  very  moment  that  they  are 
declining  here  after  sixty  years'  trial. 


LV. 

WASHINGTON,  November  2,  1840. 
WE  are  now  in  the  exciting  week  preceding 
the  election,  and  will  know  in  eight  days  who 
will  be  President  of  the  United  States.  You 
cannot  imagine  what  a  fever  every  one  is  in  : 
it  is  political  excitement,  boiling  over  with 
rage !  The  day  before  yesterday  in  Philadel 
phia  the  Van  Buren  party  demolished  the 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.       1 65 

house  which  was  the  headquarters  of  the  op 
posite  party.  There  is  no  organized  civil 
force  in  the  United  States,  so  the  populace 
can  go  to  any  imaginable  excess  without  fear 
of  repression ;  time  will  probably  make  them 
feel  the  need  of  an  armed  force,  and  the  day 
when  this  armed  force  shall  have  the  prepon 
derance  in  the  country  will  be  the  end  of  the 
present  Constitution.  So  I  think  if  they  are 
right  in  saying  that  kings  will  eventually  be 
done  away  with,  they  will  be  able  to  say  the 
same  thing  of  republics  in  America.  I  con 
sole  myself  better  with  the  one  than  the 
other. 


LVI. 

WASHINGTON,  November  10,  1840. 
MY  friend  Van  Buren  is  beaten  and  General 
Harrison  is  victorious.  The  election  will  not, 
however,  be  decided  for  fifteen  days  yet,  and 
the  new  President  will  not  enter  upon  his 
duties  until  March  4,  1841.  I  am  sorry  on  my 
own  account  at  the  result,  which,  besides,  will 
be  prejudicial  to  the  country.  The  Demo- 


1 66      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

cratic  Party,  which  is  in  power  now,  has  been 
directed  by  Mr.  Van  Buren  and  his  friends 
with  moderation  and  wisdom,  but  when  it  be 
comes  the  Opposition  party  it  will  put  no 
bounds  to  its  violence.  The  Whig  Party 
(which  is  called  that  of  the  aristocracy — my 
God,  what  aristocracy !)  will  split  as  soon  as 
they  come  into  power,  and  the  governmental 
machine  will  find  itself  opposed  by  a  furious 
democracy.  To  give  you  an  idea  of  the 
American  Constitution,  this  is  what  is  to  take 
place  after  the  new  election.  From  this  time 
to  the  4th  of  March  next  Mr.  Van  Buren  will 
hold  the  office  of  President,  which  puts  him  in 
a  very  ridiculous  position  in  face  of  those  who 
have  taken  the  power  away  from  him.  Con 
gress,  in  which  he  has  a  majority,  will  meet  in 
December.  Of  course  nothing  will  be  done  to 
aid  the  coming  Administration,  who  in  coming 
into  power  on  March  4  will  find,  in  the  first 
place,  the  Treasury  empty,  and  be  able  to  do 
nothing  until  the  following  December,  for 
Congress  is  irrevocably  dissolved  on  the  4th 
of  March,  and  they  cannot  call  a  new  one  until 
December,  because  new  members  must  be 
elected  during  the  interval.  It  seems  to  m<? 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      1 6; 

that  the  old  maxim,  "The  King  is  dead:  long 
live  the  King,"  is  better  than  these  intervals, 
which  open  the  door  so  wide  to  all  sorts  of 
disorder.  Such  a  Constitution  is  vicious  in  its 
consequences  as  in  its  principle,  in  spite  of 
the  theories,  more  or  less  specious,  of  M.  de 
Tocqueville. 

Mr.  Van  Buren  bears  his  defeat  with  dignity, 
and  as  they  say  here,  with  fortitude.  General 
Harrison  was  born  in  the  State  of  Virginia, 
which  is  thought  the  model  State  as  regards 
pure  republican  principles,  joined  with  good 
education  and  good  manners.  It  is,  in  one 
word,  the  birthplace  of  gentlemen.  Take  no 
tice,  I  beg  of  you,  that  I  am  only  the  reporter 
of  public  opinion,  and  that  I  do  not  guarantee 
the  quality  of  these  so-called  gentlemen.  Mr. 
Harrison  left  Virginia  very  early,  as  all  these 
poor  devils  in  that  State  do,  to  seek  his 
fortune  in  the  West.  He  settled  in  Ohio, 
and  later  entered  the  army,  and  was  distin 
guished  enough  to  be  made  a  General,  which 
does  not  signify  much  in  America.  He  served 
without  success  from  1812  to  1814  against  the 
English ;  afterward  against  the  Indians,  and 
his  great  exploit  was  a  victory  he  gained  over 


1 68      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

them  at  a  place  called  Tippecanoe.  He  lost 
one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  and  killed  three 
hundred  of  the  enemy.  And  for  that  this 
conqueror  has  received  the  brilliant  title  of 
"  The  Hero  of  Tippecanoe  ;"  and  it  is  the  re 
frain  of  all  the  songs,  of  all  the  pieces  of  prose 
and  of  poetry,  in  his  honor,  which  have  been 
plentiful  during  this  past  year.  General  Jack 
son,  the  predecessor  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  sent 
General  Harrison  back  to  his  home,  where,  a 
new  Cincinnatus,  he  has  conducted  his  plough; 
he  has  also  been  notary  in  his  village.  The 
party  opposed  to  Mr.  Van  Buren  not  daring 
to  bring  forward  their  most  distinguished  men, 
who  are  more  brilliant  than  the  Democrats, 
brought  General  Harrison  from  his  obscurity 
to  make  him  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency, 
and  from  that  time  he  has  become  a  great  per 
sonage,  and  his  sayings  and  doings  are  looked 
upon  as  important  —  Americanly  speaking. 
Thus  he  said  that  he  preferred  his  log-cabin— 
a  house  built  with  trunks  of  trees — to  the  pal 
ace  of  a  king;  and  his  log-cabin  has  become 
an  emblem  of  the  party :  it  is  painted  on  all 
their  flags ;  it  serves  as  their  banner  every 
where  ;  they  have  built  one  in  the  middle  of 


RECOLLECTIOXS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT.       169 

Washington.  And  there,  for  the  last  six 
months,  the  partisans  of  the  new  President 
have  met  and  yelled  speeches  and  songs.  He 
also  said  that  he  drank  nothing  but  hard  cider, 
and  not  the  foreign  wines  of  the  aristocrats. 
Since  then  it  is  not  the  proper  thing  to  get 
drunk  on  anything  but  hard  cider,  and  they 
have  vaunted  this  drink  in  prose  and  in  verse. 
He  also  said  that  his  log-cabin  had  no  lock, 
and  that  all  good  Democrats  could  come  in 
and  be  welcome  at  any  time ;  then  Harriso- 
nian  hospitality  became  proverbial !  To  tell 
you  all  the  stupidities  that  have  been  inspired 
by  these  poor  sayings  I  have  cited,  during  the 
iast  year,  would  be  impossible.  I  have  seen 
nothing,  heard  nothing,  read  nothing,  in  which 
the  log-cabin  or  hard  cider  did  not  appear. 
The  newest  style  in  dress  is  called  Tippecanoe, 
and  the  American  women  in  everything  they 
wear  seek  to  do  honor  to  the  illustrious 
conqueror.  Thanks  to  all  these  truly  ridicu 
lous  proceedings,  this  General,  not  heard  of 
yesterday,  is  elected  to-day ;  and  solely  on  ac 
count  of  his  mediocrity,  which  they  judge  in 
offensive,  he  is  to  occupy  the  first  position,  and 
govern  the  country  during  the  next  four  years. 


I/O      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

Opinions  are  divided  on  the  course  he  will 
follow.  Some  say  that,  like  Sixtus  V.,  he  will 
throw  away  his  crutches,  and  putting  aside 
those  who  have  brought  him  into  power,  will 
rule  with  an  ability  that  will  astonish  the  uni 
verse.  But  most  persons  say  that  he  is  a  vain 
man,  without  mind  or  talent,  who  will  be  a 
puppet  in  the  hands  of  flatterers,  and  those 
who  wish  to  control  him  will  ruin  the  country 
while  quarrelling  amongst  themselves.  How 
ever,  they  say  he  is  an  amiable  man,  rather 
vulgar,  and  having  the  mania  of  quoting  the 
Greeks  and  Romans,  whom  he  knows  nothing 
about,  but  thinks  it  good  taste  to  appear  to 
know. 

We  are  buried  in  snow:  in  the  same  degree 
of  latitude  as  Lisbon,  we  have  the  temperature 
of  Sweden  in  winter  and  of  the  tropics  in 
summer. 


LVII. 

WASHINGTON,  November  25,  1840. 
I  HAVE  accepted  an  invitation  to  dine  with 
Mr.  Seaton,  proprietor  and  editor  of  the  Daily 
National  Intelligencer,  the  Opposition   journal 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT.       IJ I 

in  Washington,  and  one  of  the  best  news 
papers  in  the  United  States :  it  will  be  the 
official  organ  of  the  Harrison  Administration. 
Mr.  Seaton  is  also  Mayor  of  the  city.  His 
paper  has  always  been  less  hostile  to  France 
than  the  others.  Six  years  ago,  when  we  had 
some  difficulty  with  the  United  States,  he  on 
several  occasions  opened  its  columns  to  our 
Legation.  I  did  not  wish  to  hurt  his  feelings 
by  refusing  his  invitation,  and  thus  deprive  my 
mission  of  a  useful  auxiliary  ;  besides,  in  this 
country  almost  all  the  more  distinguished  gen 
tlemen  are  journalists. 

Yesterday  morning  I  went  to  see  the  Secre 
taries  of  War  and  Navy :  they  were  feeling 
very  sore  about  their  defeat  ;  they  say  the 
world  has  become  ungovernable,  particularly 
in  those  countries  which  have  adopted  consti 
tutional  forms,  and  other  things  of  the  same 
kind,  which  prove  that  sensible  men  in  both 
hemispheres  recognize  constitutional  institu 
tions  as  only  a  special  phase  of  human  folly. 


2      RECOT LECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 


LVIII. 

WASHINGTON,  December  8,  1840. 

EIGHT  days  ago  I  gave  a  grand  dinner  to 
Mr.  Forsyth,  the  Secretary  of  State,  who  sent 
a  regret  just  as  we  were  sitting  down  to 
dinner  after  waiting  more  than  a  quarter  of 
an  hour.  It  appears  that  Americans  think 
no  more  of  this  than  of  any  other  breach  of 
politeness ;  and  I  have  been  assured  that  they 
never  refuse  until  the  last  moment. 

Our  Consul  at  Lima  has  had  a  serious  diffi 
culty  with  the  Peruvian  Government.  He 
challenged  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  to  a 
duel,  and  he,  knowing  that  M.  Saillard,  our 
Consul,  had  already  killed  two  men,  would  not 
accept  unless,  according  to  Spanish  custom, 
they  fought  on  horseback  and  with  lances. 
The  President  of  the  Republic  interfered,  and 
put  the  Minister  under  arrest,  and  placed  a 
sentinel  at  the  Consul's  door,  who  protested, 
and  threatened  a  blockade.  This  was  the 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.       1/3 

state  of  affairs  when  last  heard  from.  We 
create  difficulties  for  ourselves  everywhere. 

I  have  heard  two  things  that  have  hap 
pened,  that  I  give  you  as  specimens  of 
American  manners.  One  occurred  at  the  Uni 
versity  of  Richmond,  capital  of  the  State  of 
Virginia.  A  revolt  took  place  there  six  years 
ago,  and  the  students  celebrate  the  anniver 
sary  every  year  on  the  1 2th  of  November  by 
every  sort  of  excess.  Lately  on  this  anniver 
sary  they  disguised  themselves,  and  went  to 
the  houses  of  the  professors,  among  others  to 
Mr.  Dairs,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  men 
in  the  college.  The  moment  he  appeared  at 
the  door,  a  student  drew  a  pistol  and  shot  him 
dead.  Notwithstanding  the  horror  created  by 
this  crime,  it  is  very  probable  that  this  young 
criminal  will  not  be  condemned.* 

The  other  affair  was  equally  bloody :  A 
man  in  easy  circumstances  killed  a  workman 
with  whom  he  had  a  discussion.  He  was  put 
in  prison,  but  offered  a  sum  of  six  thousand 
dollars  to  be  set  at  liberty  provisionally,  and 
immediately  left  the  country.  He  went  to 

*  Prof.  Davis  was  shot  at  Charlottesville,  not  Richmond. 


174     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

the  West  and  bought  land.  He  will  become  a 
rich  man,  and  perhaps  in  a  few  years  a  mem 
ber  of  Congress  from  the  State  in  which  he 
has  settled.  This  has  happened  before. 
These  facts  are  evidently  the  result  of  the 
infancy  of  the  country,  and  prove  that  civilized 
countries  had  better  not  copy  this. 

I  went  yesterday  to  the  Capitol  to  see  the 
opening  of  Congress,  which  did  not  take 
place :  the  bad  weather  had  prevented  the 
members  from  reaching  here.  The  roads  are 
buried  in  snow,  and  it  is  even  very  difficult  to 
walk  along  the  streets.  A  train  was  stopped 
for  twenty-four  hours,  not  being  able  to  go 
backward  or  forward,  the  passengers  ex 
posed  to  a  bitter  cold,  with  nothing  to  eat. 
One  of  them,  a  member  of  Congress,  slipped 
from  the  platform  and  fell  between  the  rails ; 
the  train  passed  over  him  without  injuring 
him  in  the  least.  He  had  fallen  at  full  length 
under  the  train  and  with  his  head  in  a  hole, 
which  saved  him. 

For  some  time  past  the  mania  for  suicide 
seems  to  have  become  an  epidemic  in  the 
Northern  States,  both  among  strangers  and 
natives.  Two  weeks  ago  we  heard  of  two 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT.       175 

cases — one  a  Frenchman,  and  the  other  a  Creole 
of  Saint-Domingo,  settled  in  this  country,  and 
in  easy  circumstances.  Last  week  the  papers 
of  New  York  published  among  the  suicides 
without  any  known  cause  that  of  a  man  sixty- 
three  years  old,  Mr.  Nathaniel  Prince,  one  of 
the  principal  bankers  of  the  city.  The  Phila 
delphia  papers  report  the  death  of  a  young 
girl  of  eighteen,  beautiful,  modest,  rich,  and 
engaged  to  be  married,  who  sawed  through 
her  throat  with  a  razor  full  of  notches,  after 
having  tried  to  poison  herself  twice  with 
laudanum  and  arsenic.  Public  feeling  is  much 
excited  ;  and  the  public  press  have  sought  to 
find  some  remedy  for  this  social  malady.  An 
Albany  paper  and  one  in  New  York  City 
have  agreed  that  the  old  practice  should  be 
revived  of  dishonoring  and  anathematizing  the 
bodies  of  suicides.  They  propose  that  the 
body  should  not  be  buried,  but  exposed,  by 
the  law,  to  abandonment  and  infamy.  It  is  a 
violent  remedy,  whose  philosophical  legiti 
macy  I  shall  not  inquire  into.  In  a  country 
where  liberty  is  the  governing  principle  it 
seems  as  though  it  ought  to  understand  and 
logically  sanction  the  killing  of  one's  self.  I 


176      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

am  certain  that  if  this  proposition  should 
come  before  Congress  to-morrow,  logicians 
would  be  found  there  who  would  oppose  it 
as  an  infringement  on  personal  liberty  guaran 
teed  by  the  Constitution.  Suicide  would  then 
become  a  subject  of  controversy.  The  moral 
malady  is  bad  enough  without  aggravating  it 
by  political  combinations ;  because  the  sui 
cide  is  refused  a  tomb,  it  is  not  necessary  to 
raise  a  monument  for  him. 

But  what  are  the  causes  of  these  suicides  ? 
Is  there  some  common  symptom  in  this 
disease  by  which  so  many  people  have  been 
attacked,  which  can  help  to  determine  its 
character?  I  think  there  is.  The  victims 
of  this  unfortunate  monomania  all  belong  to 
the  higher  classes,  and  in  easy  circumstances ; 
thus  no  other  motive  for  their  melancholy 
but  a  mysterious  ennui.  Ennui !  that  is  to 
say  the  indifference,  the  egotism,  which  affects 
the  American  when  he  has  everything  to 
make  him  happy.  He  owes  this  terrible 
moral  plague  to  his  education,  and  to  his 
domestic  and  social  habits.  American  society 
is  governed  by  self-interest.  "  Gain" — this  is 
the  aim  of  all  their  ambition.  To  attain  it 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.       1 77 

men  associate  their  efforts  and  make  their 
calculations  together,  without  any  interchange 
of  sentiments,  without  any  emotion.  Their 
minds  are  isolated ;  nothing  outlives  the 
division  of  profits.  After  that  all  association 
is  broken. 

An  American  is  never  satisfied  unless  in  con 
stant  action  ;  as  soon  as  he  rests,  whether  be 
cause  his  fortune  is  made,  or  because  he  feels 
the  weight  of  age,  he  becomes  melancholy 
and  unhappy.  He  remains  alone  and  quiet  in 
the  midst  of  a  society  which  is  continually 
moving  and  where  he  counts  for  nothing ;  he 
succumbs  to  his  uselessness,  and  particularly 
to  the  indifference  and  inattention  of  others. 
His  life  was  in  his  business:  in  giving  up  one 
he  gave  up  the  other.  Speculator,  he  had 
others  interested  in  him  ;  these  were  not  his 
friends,  but  his  companions  ;  between  them 
there  was  the  commercial  battle-field,  which 
was  also  a  kind  of  fraternity.  The  day  he 
gives  up  his  business  this  soldier  of  traffic  is 
invalided.  His  inactivity  finds  no  compensa 
tion  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  acquired  riches; 
for  in  the  United  States  the  only  enjoyment 
and  the  only  occupation  is  the  continual  work- 


178      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

ing  of  this  money;  once  permanently  invested, 
it  loses  all  its  value.  These  retired  merchants 
die  from  neglect  and  loneliness,  and  from  want 
of  something  to  do  in  the  midst  of  the  stir 
and  activity  of  every  one  around  them.  They 
don't  find  even  in  their  own  family  the  im 
portance  they  have  lost  in  the  outside  world. 
In  America  paternity  is  without  prestige  and 
old  age  without  a  crown.  No  one  cares  for 
him ;  the  thoughts  of  his  children  are  else 
where,  for  they  must  in  their  turn  work  and 
speculate  to  increase  their  patrimony  and  en 
joy  it.  There  is  a  resemblance  and  a  differ 
ence  between  the  American  and  the  miser: 
both  materialize  their  earthly  happiness  by 
centring  it  on  gold,  but  the  happiness  of  one 
is  in  hoarding  his  dollars,  the  other  in  contin 
ually  moving  them.  This  materialization  of 
all  pleasure  has  made  society  in  America  cold, 
and  has  affected  the  marital  relations  even 
more.  A  married  woman  in  the  United  States 
is  only  a  machine  to  produce  children,  a  wax 
figure  covered  with  velvet ;  she  has  the  right 
of  maternity,  and  of  spending  her  husband's 
money,  but  otherwise  counts  for  nothing.  She 
is  treated  with  politeness,  but  made  to  feel 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      1 79 

her  inferiority.  Whether  this  stiffness  in  their 
social  relations  has  its  compensation  in  the 
sanctity  of  home  I  cannot  say;  but  I  fear 
that  with  the  merchant  love  is  completely 
stifled  by  preoccupations  of  business  and  poli 
tics.  They  take  some  notice  of  young  girls, 
because  they  are  something  to  get,  to  procure ; 
but  the  woman  has  no  place  in  American 
society.  The  prospect  of  marriage  stripped  of 
its  poetry  and  tenderness  is  enough  to  frighten 
any  one;  it  is  only  in  America  that  young  girls 
kill  themselves  who  have  not  been  disap 
pointed  in  love  and  where  shop-girls  have  the 
spleen.  Nowhere  but  in  this  country  do  rich 
and  worthy  old  men  wish  to  cut  off  the  few  re 
maining  days  of  their  life  ! 

Instead  of  making  life,  which  is  already  so 
dismal  in  America,  more  so  by  legal  penalties, 
instead  of  dwelling  on  all  that  is  gloomy  in 
the  past  on  one  side,  and  on  the  puritan  Bible 
on  the  other,  let  them  introduce,  if  it  is  possi 
ble,  something  joyous  into  their  life — a  little 
poetry  and  passion  ! 

It  is  only  necessary  to  stroll  either  in  the 
country  or  through  the  streets  of  New  York 
or  some  other  city  in  the  United  States  on  a 


180      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

Sunday,  and  watch  the  deathly  silence  of  the 
inhabitants  walking  with  closed  mouths  and 
gloomy  faces,  to  understand  that  these  people 
ook  upon  a  gay  life  as  they  would  on  a  fu 
neral. 


LIX. 

WASHINGTON,  December  25,  1840. 

Two  hours  before  the  meeting  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  and  fortunately  when  no 
one  was  in  the  Hall,  the  chandelier  fell  and 
was  broken  into  a  thousand  pieces.  It  was  of 
an  enormous  size,  cost  twenty-five  thousand 
francs,  and  had  just  been  put  up.  This  shows 
the  incompetency  of  the  workmen  in  this 
country,  who  never  do  anything  thoroughly 
or  well. 

I  have  been  to  see  Mr.  Bancroft,  who  has 
just  come  from  Boston.  He  is  a  great  friend 
of  M.  Guizot  and  corresponds  with  him  ;  he  is 
one  of  the  eminent  litterary  characters  of  the 
United  States,  of  which  he  is  now  writing  a 
history.  I  invited  him  to  dinner,  where  he 
will  find  persons  who  share  his  opinions,  for 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT.       l8l 

he  is  a  partisan  of  the  present  Administration, 
— Democrat,  or  lacofoco,  as  they  say  here, — 
and  my  other  guests  are  all  of  this  party. 

I  have  been  struck  with  the  difference  in 
the  length  of  the  days  in  Europe  and  America. 
Last  summer  they  seemed  to  be  shorter  than 
in  Europe  ;  now  they  appear  longer.  This  is 
explained  by  the  difference  of  ten  degrees  of 
latitude ;  but  one  feels  it  very  much. 

I  made  two  new  acquaintances  at  the  Aus 
trian  Minister's  yesterday.  One  of  them,  Mr. 
Calhoun,  who  is  one  of  the  most  celebrated 
persons  in  the  United  States,  has  been  the 
leader  of  a  party  called  multifiers,  who  threat 
ened  eight  years  ago  to  separate  the  States 
of  the  South  from  those  of  the  North,  and 
thus  destroy  the  Union.  Mr.  Calhoun  is  one 
of  very  few  who  are  favorable  to  us,  and 
oppose  putting  a  high  tax  on  our  silks.  He  is 
from  South  Carolina,  where  the  feeling  toward 
France  is  better  than  in  the  other  States. 

My  other  new  acquaintance  was  Mr.  Sumter, 
representing  also  South  Carolina.  I  sat  next 
to  him,  and  to  my  great  surprise  he  thanked 
me  for  my  kindness  to  his  maternal  grand 
mother,  and  I  was  not  less  astonished  to  hear 


1 82      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

that  he  was  the  grandson  of  the  old  Marquise 
de  Lage,  and  brother  of  Madame  de  Fontenay. 
He  is  very  well  for  an  American,  and  I  hope 
will  defend  our  commercial  interests. 

Mr.  Van  Buren  has  sent  his  message  to  Con 
gress.  It  is  well  written,  and  he  had  the  good 
taste  to  make  no  allusion  to  his  defeat.  The 
song  of  the  swan  is  in  his  case  a  song  of 
triumph,  so  ably  has  he  withdrawn  himself 
from  this  miserable  affair. 

I  went  to  a  Charity  Fair  held  by  the  "  ele 
gant  ladies"  of  the  city  ;  it  was  only  curious 
on  account  of  the  filth,  the  poor  display  and 
bad  order  kept.  One  half  of  the  stands  were 
filled  with  eatables,  and  these  ladies  served 
goose,  ham,  tea,  coffee,  and  ices.  Suitable  to 
the  American,  who  spends  all  the  time  he  is 
not  engaged  in  business  in  drinking  and  eat 
ing. 

Here  is  a  new  story  that  will  make  you 
familiar  with  the  tone  of  the  society  in  which 
I  have  the  pleasure  and  honor  to  live.  A  Mr. 
de  Muhlenberg,  of  German  parentage  but  born 
and  brought  up  here,  and  in  high  position, 
since  he  has  been  United  States  Minister  at 
Vienna  for  three  years,  was  asked  by  one  of 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      183 

his  friends,  in  my  presence,  what  he  thought  of 
Prince  Metternich.  He  reflected,  and  would 
not  answer  at  first.  His  friend  insisted,  and 
then  he  said,  "  You  want  to  know  what  I  think 
of  Prince  Metternich  ?  Well,  he  is  a  hog  !" 


LX. 

SOME  days  ago  I  went  to  an  evening  party 
at  Mr.  Gadsby's,  proprietor  of  the  hotel  where 
I  stayed  on  my  arrival  here,  which  he  has  re 
linquished  to  his  son.  He  is  an  old  wretch 
who  has  made  a  fortune  in  the  slave-trade, 
which  does  not  prevent  Washington  society 
from  rushing  to  his  house,  and  I  should  make 
my  Government  very  unpopular  if  I  refused  to 
associate  with  this  kind  of  people.  This  gen 
tleman's  house  is  the  most  beautiful  in  the 
city,  very  well  furnished,  and  perfect  in  the  dis 
tribution  of  the  rooms;  but  what  society,  my 
God!  It  made  my  hair  stand  on  end  to  find 
myself  amongst  these  men  and  women  rival 
ling  each  other  in  bad  manners.  I  have  never 
thought  of  the  great  importance  of  politeness 
in  social  relations,  but  now  I  see  that  it  is  the 


1 84      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

fundamental  basis  and  the  most  indispensable 
element.  The  women,  ridiculously  dressed, 
stood  around  the  room  hanging  on  their  hus 
bands'  arms.  Perhaps  it  was  very  moral,  but 
I  assure  you  it  was  very  grotesque.  There  are 
no  young  people  in  the  French  province  who 
have  not  better  manners.  To  change  this 
state  of  things,  these  strange  people  will  have 
to  go  abroad  and  see  something  of  the  best 
society  in  London  and  Paris ;  but  this,  I  am 
afraid,  would  be  difficult.  Then  they  would 
copy  us  ;  for  though  extremely  vain,  they  have 
all  the  instincts  of  the  monkey  in  their  desire 
to  imitate,  and  allow  themselves  to  be  influ 
enced  by  the  masses,  but  look  upon  us  isolated 
Europeans  as  lunatics  because  our  manners 
and  behavior  are  different  from  theirs. 

You  ask  me  what  city  in  the  United  States 
I  should  dislike  the  least  to  live  in?  Without 
doubt,  Philadelphia.  Boston  is  too  cold  ;  New 
York  too  noisy,  and  full  of  adventurers  from 
all  parts  of  the  world,  who  have  to  seek  a 
fortune  or  an  asylum ;  Baltimore  is  as  gloomy 
as  a  tomb;  while  Philadelphia  has  an  air  of  dig 
nity,  cleanliness,  and  gentility  which  makes  it 
a  place  apart.  One  finds  material  resources  of 


RECOLLECTIONS   CF  A    DIPLOMAT,       185 

all  kinds  there,  and  a  society  which  is  agree 
able.  As  to  Washington,  it  is  neither  city, 
village,  nor  country :  it  is  a  great  workshop, 
with  building-materials  everywhere,  in  a  deso 
late  situation,  and  where  life  is  intolerable. 

I  went  yesterday  evening  to  a  party  at  the 
house  of  the  Minister  of  Russia,  and  was  pre 
sented  to  Mrs.  Webster,  wife  of  an  important 
person,  or  at  least  of  a  person  who  is  much 
talked  of.  He  is  the  most  celebrated  lawyer 
in  Boston,  and  the  greatest  orator  in  the 
Senate,  the  busiest  politician,  and,  it  is  said, 
intimate  with,  and  advocate  when  well  paid, 
of  all  bankers  and  financiers  who  have  been 
brought  before  a  court  of  justice  for  any 
crimes  or  misdemeanors.  He  is  a  great 
partisan  of  England,  and  consequently  anti- 
French,  and  is  spoken  of  as  Secretary  of  State 
under  the  future  President.  He  is  said  to  be 
rough  in  his  manners,  wilful,  and  ill-bred.  This 
promises  pleasant  diplomatic  relations  for  me. 
Bates  gave  me  a  letter  to  him,  which  I  sent 
immediately  on  my  arrival  here,  but  as  yet 
have  not  had  an  opportunity  to  make  his  ac 
quaintance. 


1 86      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMA  T. 


LXI. 

WASHINGTON,  January  12,  1841. 

I  HAD  heard  that  the  President's  public  re 
ceptions  on  New  Year's  Day  were  so  very 
ridiculous  that  I  anticipated  some  amusement ; 
but  there  was  nothing  of  the  kind.  I  arrived 
at  the  appointed  hour,  eleven  in  the  morning, 
with  M.  de  Montholon  and  M.  de  La  Fosse. 
After  waiting  a  few  minutes  we  were  ushered 
into  another  room,  where  we  found  Mr.  Van 
Buren  with  the  members  of  his  Cabinet  and 
their  wives  and  children.  After  the  customary 
shake  hands  and  some  complimentary  words 
to  each,  very  happily  expressed  by  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  we  watched  the  arrival  of  a  great  many 
men,  some  of  whom  were  very  common-look 
ing  and  very  much  embarrassed  at  rinding 
themselves  in  such  beautifully  furnished  rooms. 

It  is  an  established  custom  that  on  the  first 
day  of  the  year  the  sovereign  people  have  the 
right  to  enter  the  President's  House  and  make 
themselves  perfectly  at  home.  Some  years 
ago  even  the  hackmen  who  brought  people  to 
see  the  President  went  up  after  them,  and 


RE  COLL  EC  TIG  N S   OF  A   DIPL  OMA  T.       1 8  / 

whip  in  hand  made  the  tour  of  the  rooms. 
Nothing  of  this  kind  took  place,  or  anything 
showing  American  peculiarity ;  it  was  only 
dull  and  second  class.  The  Diplomatic  Corps 
made  a  rather  ridiculous  figure,  being  the  only 
persons  in  uniform;  the  crowd  who  were  wan 
dering  around  the  rooms  examined  us  as  if  we 
were  curious  wild  beasts. 

I  went  to  a  ball  at  Mr.  Forsyth's,  Secretary 
of  State.  This  entertainment  was  pretty  good, 
compared  to  those  I  have  been  to  before.  They 
waltz  seldom,  and  when  they  do,  very  badly. 
The  quadrilles  are  danced  without  either  grace 
or  animation.  I  saw  the  acknowledged  beauty 
of  Washington,  Miss  Mason,  tall,  light  blonde, 
and  regular  features,  but  dressed  like  a  doll 
such  as  you  see  at  the  fairs  in  the  provinces 
sold  at  thirty-five  cents. 

I  went  to  the  President's  yesterday  to  give 
him  a  letter  from  the  King  announcing  the 
birth  of  the  Due  de  Chartres;  we  talked  for  a 
long  time  about  European  affairs,  of  which  he 
did  not  understand  one  word.  If  I  did  not 
know  how  ignorant  Europeans  were  of  the 
United  States  I  should  be  surprised  at  the 
ignorance  of  the  people  here  about  our  old 


1 83      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

world.  We  returned  to  American  affairs  ;  on 
this  subject  Mr.  Van  Buren  is  remarkable,  and 
the  more  earnest  because  he  feels  bitterly  his 
defeat. 

The  state  of  affairs  in  this  country  now  is 
such  as  to  draw  the  attention  of  Europe  to  it ; 
for  a  long  time  there  have  been  questions  in 
suspense  between  the  United  States  and  Eng 
land  about  their  respective  boundaries ;  many 
collisions  have  taken  place  between  the  Eng 
lish  and  American  borderers,  and  a  fresh  one  is 
dreaded  which  may  bring  on  war  between  the 
two  countries.  Although  this  is  the  general 
opinion,  I  do  not  think  it  is  as  bad  as  that. 
Lord  Palmerston  and  his  representative,  Mr. 
Fox,  treat  the  Americans  with  hauteur  and  in 
solence  such  as  Europe  has  had  experience  of. 
The  new  Administration  which  goes  into  power 
the  4th  of  March  is  altogether  English  at 
heart ;  and  will  without  doubt  immediately 
make  concessions  which  will  insure  the  main 
tenance  of  peace. 

I  have  just  received  an  invitation  to  a  zved- 
ding-ball  at  General  Macomb's ;  under  the  seal 
there  is  a  knot  of  white  satin — singular  custom  ! 

I  was  obliged  to  visit  Congress  yesterday  to 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT.       189 

talk  over  with  several  members  business  mat 
ters  in  which  my  Legation  was  interested,  for 
here  diplomatic  affairs  are  not  treated  as 
everywhere  else,  where  we  communicate  with 
the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  and  arrange 
the  matter  with  him  alone.  On  the  contrary, 
here  the  Minister  submits  the  questions  to  the 
President,  who  decides  whether  to  admit  them. 
When  he  decides  in  the  affirmative,  he  sends 
them  to  the  Senate  and  to  the  House  of  Rep 
resentatives,  whence  they  are  sent  to  the  dif 
ferent  committees  whose  business  it  is  to  ex 
amine  and  report  on  them.  The  chairman  or 
president  of  the  committee  then  reports  to 
the  House,  who  then  vote  for  or  against  it. 
The  result  of  this  is  that  the  diplomatic  agent 
is  obliged  first  to  see  the  Secretary  of  State 
and  explain  the  affair  to  him,  then  the  chair 
man  to  interest  him  in  the  question  and  to 
persuade  him  to  consider  it  favorably,  and  then 
to  see  each  of  the  most  important  members  of 
Congress  and  try  to  convince  them.  The  de 
lays  are  interminable.  There  are  three  affairs 
which  have  been  hanging  on  for  three  years, 
and  I  am  anxious  to  have  them  settled  during 
the  present  session. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

I  have  seen  Mr.  Clay,  the  great  man  of  the 
country,  who  will  be  still  greater,  as  they  say 
he  will  be  the  director  of  General  Harrison, 
and  candidate  of  his  party  for  the  next  Presi 
dency.  He  was  particularly  polite  to  me, 
probably  on  account  of  the  reputation  his 
party  have  for  being  anti-French.  I  had  only 
seen  him  once  before — in  the  month  of  July. 
He  repeated  at  the  Russian  Minister's  what  he 
had  told  me  before,  that  he  had  been  badly 
received  by  the  elder  branch  of  the  Bourbons 
when  he  was  in  Paris  in  1814.  Is  it  not  de 
lightful  to  see  a  democrat  who  has  been  bad 
ly  received  by  a  king  nurse  this  grievance  for 
twenty-six  years  !  He  was,  however,  very  anx 
ious  to  show  his  high  opinion  of  the  present 
King,  praising  his  great  intelligence,  his  liberal 
ideas,  and  "  rinding  him  worthy  of  governing  a 
republic." 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 


LXII. 

WASHINGTON,  January  22,  1841. 

I  DINED  yesterday  with  the  Austrian  Min 
ister.  The  celebrated  Mr.  Webster  wras  there  ; 
he  is  pompons  to  the  last  degree,  and  ill  at 
ease.  I  still  think  that  all  the  distinguished 
men  in  this  country  would  be  only  second  or 
even  third  class  in  England.  They  give  them 
selves  the  airs  of  importance  one  sees  in  the 
brewers  of  London,  with  their  vanity,  vulgar 
ity,  and  absurdity.  As  to  Mr.  Clay,  he  is  of 
another  type — that  of  a  gentleman  farmer. 

I  went  to  a  wedding-party  at  General  Ma- 
comb's  ;  a  crowd  compressed  into  two  small 
rooms ;  common  people,  and  detestable  music. 
I  will  not  speak  of  the  melted  ices,  which 
flowed  everywhere,  and  of  the  hot  wine,  the 
odor  of  which  was  very  strong.  I  did  not 
taste  it. 

I  met  at  Colonel  Totten's,  the  Director- 
General  of  the  military  works,  and  former  col 
league  and  friend  of  General  Bernard,  a  very 
curious  couple  —  General  and  Mrs.  General 
Gaims,  as  they  call  them  here.  The  husband 
is  one  of  the  numerous  candidates  for  the  next 


I Q2      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

Presidency.  For  the  last  three  months  he  has 
been  going  from  city  to  city  giving  lectures  or 
speeches  on  the  art  of  war  and  means  of  de 
fence  in  the  United  States.  This  is  not  at  all 
uncommon  in  this  country;  but  to  see  his  wife 
succeed  him  on  the  same  platform  and  give 
lectures  on  the  blessings  of  peace,  is  as  curious 
here  as  elsewhere.  Mrs.  General  Gaims  is  a 
little  woman,  whose  head  scarcely  reaches  to 
her  husband's  shoulder,  to  whom  she  clung  all 
the  evening.  She  is  frightfully  ugly,  with  a  red 
face  covered  with  blotches ;  and,  to  add  to 
this,  she  had  arranged  her  hair  in  little  rings 
plastered  all  over  her  head  and  brow.  She  is  a 
real  monster.  One  could  laugh  at  this  curious 
object,  if  he  could  retain  spirit  enough  in  this 
dreary  country  to  laugh  at  anything. 

I  gave  a  dinner  yesterday.  Amongst  my 
guests  was  Mr.  Calhoun,  who  is  opposed  to  the 
present  Administration.  He  has  better  man 
ners  than  his  colleagues  in  the  Senate,  and  has 
the  merit  of  being  a  declared  enemy  of  a  high 
tariff  on  our  silks  and  wines.  Mr.  Hunster  was 
also  one  of  my  guests.  He  has  great  influence 
in  Virginia,  where  just  now  there  is  a  great  cry 
against  France  on  account  of  the  monopoly  of 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT.       193 

tobacco  which  they  say  will  diminish  the  con 
sumption.  I  tried  to  prove  to  Mr.  Hunster 
that  this  was  not  so,  and  although  he  seemed 
satisfied  with  my  explanations,  I  found  him  a 
very  vulgar  person.  Another  of  my  guests 
was  an  influential  member  of  Congress.  This 
agreeable  and  distinguished  man  blew  his  nose 
in  his  napkin  constantly  during  dinner !  It  is 
necessary  to  be  civil  to  these  savages,  for  they 
are  the  leaders  on  whom  depend  in  a  great 
measure  the  commercial  interests  I  have  to 
defend. 


LXIII. 

WASHINGTON,  February  7,  1841. 
I  DINED  lately  with  Mr.  Van  Buren.  There 
were  thirty  guests,  amongst  whom,  much  to  my 
astonishment,  were  Messrs.  Clay  and  Webster, 
the  two  principal  leaders  of  the  Opposition, 
and  most  violent  enemies  of  Mr.  Van  Buren, 
and  who  were  certainly  the  most  instrumental 
in  his  defeat.  The  disdainful  Mr.  Webster 
became  more  human,  and  approached  me  with 
some  show  of  courtesy.  I  feel  sure  that  by 


194      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

keeping  a  reserved  manner  toward  him  I 
should  make  him  more  civil :  it  is  the  same 
with  the  Americans  as  with  the  English — one 
must  never  make  the  first  advances. 

An  earthquake  was  felt  a  few  days  ago  at 
New  York,  and  because  it  happened  on  the 
day  of  General  Harrison's  departure  from  his 
home — which  is  nine  hundred  miles  from  New 
York — to  go  to  Washington,  all  the  news 
papers  cried  out,  A  miracle ! 

Mr.  Clay  made  a  speech  in  the  Senate  deny 
ing1  that  he  was  hostile  to  France,  of  which  he 

o 

had  been  accused.  He  introduced  a  pompous 
eulogy  of  King  Louis  Philippe,  "  who  had  the 
honor  of  being  the  elect  of  the  people  and  not 
one  of  those  idiot  kings,  reigning  by  the  ab 
surd  right  of  legitimacy."  Unfortunately  Mr. 
Clay,  notwithstanding  this  strong  eulogy, 
spoke  against  admitting  our  wines  and  silks 
without  an  augmentation  of  duty,  and  I 
strongly  fear  that  he  will  succeed,  as  in  a  few 
months  his  party  will  be  in  power  and  have 
the  majority  in  Congress. 

I  also  heard  a  brawler  speaking  against  our 
system  of  taxation  :  there  is  every  reason  to 
believe  that  I  shall  be  beaten,  but  I  shall  not 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT.       1 95 

fall  without  defenders ;  I  have  furnished  our 
friends  with  good  arms,  and  they  have  recruit 
ed  help  from  the  opposite  ranks,  amongst 
others  Mr.  Wise,  an  orator  of  talent,  who 
spoke  the  other  day  for  four  hours  in  our 
favor. 

I  went  to  see  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  Hill, 
who  live  at  the  extreme  end  of  the  city ;  my 
carriage  sunk  up  to  the  axle-tree  in  the  snow 
and  mud;  it  was  necessary  to  leave  the  car 
riage,  which  had  to  be  dragged  out  and  scraped 
to  remove  the  mud  and  slush  which  stuck  to 
it  like  glue.  I  don't  know  how  any  one  can 
get  to  the  Hills'  on  Monday  next,  when  they 
give  a  ball;  they  count  on  the  moon  shining 
on  that  night  to  save  their  necks.  This  is 
how  it  is  in  Washington — streets  not  paved, 
swept,  or  lighted. 

I  went  to  a  ball  at  Mrs.  Woodbury's;  the 
chandelier  with  three  lamps  not  giving  suffi 
cient  light,  a  hoop  with  candles  on  it  had  been 
attached.  This  piece  of  machinery  broke 
down  and  fell  amongst  the  dancers,  happily 
without  setting  fire  to  the  dresses  of  the 
misses. 

Here    is  a  Parliamentary   incident  which  is 


196      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

worth  recording.  Mr.  Duncan,  a  member  of 
Congress  from  Ohio,  having  presumed  to  ques 
tion  the  courage  and  glory  of  General  Har 
rison,  Mr.  Johnson  from  Maryland  asked  if  the 
individual  could  not  be  called  to  order,  who 
after  having  been  branded  as  a  coward  in  this 
House,  dared  accuse  General  Harrison  of 
cowardice.  Mr.  Duncan  did  not  hear  this 
insult,  but  next  day,  seeing  an  account  of  it 
in  the  newspaper,  he  rose  up  and  cried  out, 
"  I  declare  that  I  never  heard  these  words  at 
tributed  to  Mr.  Johnson,  and  I  ask  of  the 
President  if  they  were  heard  by  him?"  The 
President  replying  in  the  negative,  Mr.  Dun 
can  continued:  "Then, .if  these  words  have 
been  uttered  here,  they  were  spoken  low  pur 
posely-  that  they  might  not  be  heard  by  any 
one,  and  he  who  has  not  dared  to  say  them  to 
my  face  is  not  only  a  vile  liar,  but  a  base  black 
guard  and  infamous  coward!"  Mr.  Johnson 
pretended  not  to  hear  this  violent  attack  on 
account  of  the  great  noise  at  the  time ;  but 
seeing  it  in  the  newspapers  next  day,  Mr. 
Johnson  protested  against  the  record  of  it,  in 
the  sitting  of  the  day  before,  and  demanded 
that  it  should  be  expunged,  as  the  insults  as 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT,       IQ/ 

recorded  had  never  been  given  by  Mr.  Dun 
can.  The  latter  not  being  present  the  request 
of  Mr.  Johnson  was  granted,  and  the  House 
passed  to  the  order  of  the  day.  Mr.  Duncan 
carried  the  quarrel  into  the  papers,  where 
these  gentlemen  exchanged  insults  worse,  if 
possible,  than  those  in  the  House.  This  is 
what  the  beautiful  forms  of  democracy  lead 
to. 

We  all  met  at  the  Russian  Minister's  to  con 
sult  as  to  what  we  should  do  on  the  arrival  of 
General  Harrison,  who  is  expected  every  day. 
I  advised  that  we  should  only  leave  our  cards 
on  him,  as  in  my  opinion  anything  more 
would  be,  if  not  an  insult,  certainly  a  want  of 
delicacy  to  Mr.  Van  Buren.  I  was  very  much 
astonished  to  find  that  every  one  agreed  with 
me,  for  my  colleagues  are  all  Harrisonians. 
So  it  was  arranged  as  I  had  proposed. 


198      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 


LXIV. 

WASHINGTON,  February  21,  1841. 
I  WENT  to  a  grand  ball,  called  here  the  As 
sembly,  where  I  remained  about  twenty  minutes. 
They  have  one  every  fortnight ;  there  are  four 
during  the  winter.  My  colleagues  and  I  all 
subscribed  ;  these  four  pleasures  only  cost  us 
one  hundred  francs  each.  Always  the  same  so 
ciety,  or  rather  the  same  assemblage,  but  this 
time  in  a  hall  entirely  too  large  and  where  one 
is  frozen  ;  and  the  wind  blowing  through  it 
with  such  force  that  it  caused  the  lamps  to 
smoke. 

There  has  been  also  a  grand  ball  given  by 
subscription  to  General  Harrison,  to  which  the 
Diplomatic  Corps  were  invited.  As  it  was 
an  affair  of  party,  I  said  to  those  of  my  col 
leagues  who  asked  my  advice,  that  I  should  not 
go ;  that  there  could  be  for  us  but  one  Presi 
dent  until  March  4 — Mr.  Van  Buren.  I  believe 
that  the  Ministers  of  Russia  and  Belgium  were 
the  only  ones  who  went. 

I  go  every  now  and  then  to  Congress  to 
note  the  uselessness  of  their  idle  talk ;  it  is 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT.       1 99 

pitiable  !  Just  now  they  are  on  the  chapter  of 
economy,  and  no  government  costs  more  than 
this :  each  State  has  the  expense  of  an  entire 
government,  independent  of  which  the  Federal 
Government  costs  them  a  great  deal  of  money  ; 
each  member  of  Congress,  Senator,  or  Repre 
scntative  costs  them,  first,  eight  dollars  for 
every  twenty  miles  they  travel  to  come  from 
their  home  to  Washington,  and  most  of  them 
have  fifteen  to  eighteen  hundred  miles  to  go ; 
they  pay  them  the  same  to  return  ;  and  they 
receive  eight  dollars  a  day  for  eight  or  nine 
months :  there  are  three  hundred  and  fifty  of 
them.  Add  to  this  the  costs  of  keeping  the 
buildings  in  order,  light  and  heat,  expenses  of 
all  kinds,  which  are  enormous,  the  total  for  the 
expense  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  is  more  than  five  millions  !  I  assure 
you  their  work  is  not  worth  it. 

To  kill  the  time,  which  passes  slower  at 
Washington  than  anywhere  else,  I  write  long 
dispatches,  which  unfortunately  have  not  the 
interest  or  variety  of  the  European  correspond 
ence,  for  in  Europe  the  interests  of  all  the 
great  powers  are  complicated :  they  consult 
amongst  themselves  before  taking  any  impor- 


200      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

tant  step,  and  European  politics  .are,  so  to 
say,  a  grand  mechanism,  where  every  part  has 
its  use  and  function.  America  offers  nothing 
like  it:  all  the  States  are  too  much  occupied 
by  their  own  affairs  to  interfere  with  those  of 
other  governments,  and  the  United  States 
have  made  themselves  independent  of  Euro 
pean  politics.  When  it  is  a  question  of  recog 
nizing  a  new  sovereign  in  a  foreign  country, 
they  have  established  a  new  order  of  things — • 
they  consult  their  own  interests,  and  never  fol 
low  the  example  of  others;  thus  they  were 
the  only  ones  to  acknowledge  Don  Miguel 
King  of  Portugal.  They  love  or  feign  to  love 
those  governments  favorable  to  their  own  prin 
ciples,  but  do  not  quarrel  with  those  whose 
system  is  different,  and  without  approving  of 
their  political  theories,  they  draw  every  advan 
tage  possible  from  their  relations  with  them, 
and  recognize  those  powers  they  think  firmly 
established. 

But  if  the  spirit  of  isolation  which  the 
United  States  have  sought  up  to  this  time  to 
maintain  in  all  questions  of  balance  of  power, 
or  the  manner  of  government  and  systems  of 
alliance  of  European  nations  leave  a  poorer 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      2OI 

field  for  diplomatic  correspondence,  and  pre 
vents  it  from  discussing  questions  to  which 
this  country  remains  indifferent,  the  interior 
situation  of  the  United  States  is  of  itself  re 
markable  enough  to  furnish  various  subjects  of 
observation.  It  is  indeed  wonderful  to  see  a 
State  which  has  not  been  in  existence  more 
than  half  a  century,  and  which  has  quintupled 
her  population,  extended  her  boundaries  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  from  the  great 
lakes  of  Canada  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  which 
has  multiplied  its  navigation  and  its  means  of 
interior  communication,  has  created  a  respect 
able  navy,  carried  its  commerce  to  every  part 
of  the  world,  etc.,  etc.  .  .  .  Only  considering 
the  United  States  from  this  point  of  view,  one 
has  curious  subjects  of  study  ;  but  I  do  not  feel 
that  I  have  the  capacity  to  fill  the  role  of  a 
far-seeing  and  prophetic  observer. 


202      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 


LXV. 

WASHINGTON,  March  10,  1841. 

FANNY  ELSSLER  has  made  such  a  great  im 
pression  at  Havana,  that  on  the  day  of  her 
benefit  the  ladies  gave  her  a  purse  containing 
fifty  thousand  dollars.  They  gave  her  a  ball, 
to  which  she  went  in  a  chariot  covered  with 
flowers.  The  whole  town  went  mad,  crying 
"  la  divina  Fanny  /" 

I  have  been  to  see  Mr.  Van  Buren  at  Mr. 
Gilpin's,  the  former  Attorney-General,  with 
whom  he  has  been  living  since  he  left  the 
Presidential  palace.  He  will  stay  there  until 
his  departure  for  New  York  City,  whence  he 
will  return  to  his  home  in  the  country. 

There  was  a  curious  exhibition  yesterday, 
which  gave  a  very  just  idea  of  American  man 
ners.  All  the  Diplomatic  Corps  were  to  be 
presented  to  the  new  President.  We  all  as 
sembled  beforehand  at  Mr.  Fox's,  the  English 
Minister,  except  our  colleague,  the  Russian 
Minister,  who  pretended  to  be  sick,  in  order 
to  obtain  a  private  audience.  From  there  we 
went  to  the  Presidential  palace.  We  had 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      203 

agreed  upon  the  speech  which  Mr.  Fox  was 
to  make  in  our  names.  On  our  arrival  at 
White  House,  as  they  call  the  President's 
house,  the  new  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Web 
ster,  who  was  very  awkward  in  his  functions, 
made  his  arrangements  with  Mr.  Fox,  after 
which  we  were  placed  in  line  against  the  wall, 
by  rank,  according  to  the  time  of  residence 
here,  and  after  a  long  time  for  a  country  where 
the  chief  of  the  Government  has  no  right  to 
keep  any  one  waiting,  the  old  General  came 
in,  followed  by  all  the  members  of  his  Cabinet, 
who  marched  in  single  file  and  so  stood  behind 
him.  He  stepped  toward  Mr.  Fox,  whom  Mr. 
Webster  named  to  him.  Mr.  Fox  read  his  ad 
dress  to  him ;  then  the  President  put  on  his 
spectacles  and  read,  in  his  turn,  his  reply. 
Then,  after  having  made  shake  hands  with  Mr. 
Fox,  he  walked  from  one  end  of  our  line  to 
the  other,  giving  each  of  us  shake  hands  with 
out  saying  a  single  word.  This  ceremony 
ended,  he  returned  to  the  room  he  had  come 
from  and  brought  Mrs.  Harrison,  widow  of  his 
eldest  son,  whom  he  presented  to  the  Diplo 
matic  Corps  in  a  body.  Mr.  Webster,  who 
followed  him,  then  presented  Mrs.  Finley, 


2O4      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

mother  of  this  Mrs.  Harrison,  in  the  following 
words  :  "  Gentlemen,  I  introduce  to  you  Mistress 
Finley,  the  lady  who  attends  Mistress  Harrison" 
and  take  note,  this  good  lady  who  "attends  the 
others" — takes  care  of  the  others — is  blind. 
Then,  suddenly,  a  crowd  of  people  rushed  into 
the  room  :  they  were  the  sisters,  wives,  daugh 
ters,  cousins,  and  friends  of  the  President  and 
his  ministers,  whom  they  introduced  to  us,  and 
vice  versa,  in  the  midst  of  the  greatest  confu 
sion;  most  of  the  men  who  accompanied  the 
women  wore  frock-coats. 

It  was  evident  that  the  poor  Diplomatic 
Corps  were  destined  to  serve  as  food  for  the 
curiosity  of  these  male  and  female  boobies. 
Seeing  this,  after  exchanging  a  few  words  with 
Mrs.  Webster,  the  wife  of  the  new  chief,  I 
hurried  home. 

There  was  another  scene  quite  equal  to  this 
at  the  State  Department  Foreign  Office :  it  was 
told  me  by  M.  Martini,  charge  d'affaires  of  Hol 
land.  Thinking  that  it  was  the  proper  thing 
to  make  his  first  visit  to  the  Secretary  of  State 
at  his  office,  he  went  there  a  few  days  ago  ; 
he  was  shown  into  Mr.  Webster's  room,  who 
was  surrounded  by  a  dozen  political  friends. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      2O$ 

After  saying,  "  How  do  you  do"  he  showed 
him  into  the  next  room,  the  door  of  which 
was  open,  and  said,  "  There  are  the  ladies" 
M.  Martini  found  Mrs.  Webster  and  ten  other 
ladies,  who  told  him  they  had  come  to  ex 
amine  the  State  Department ;  they  then  went 
out  by  another  door,  leaving  him  alone.  He 
went  back  into  Mr.  Webster's  room,  who  con 
tinued  his  conversation  with  his  friends  with 
out  taking  the  slightest  notice  of  his  presence, 
and  M.  Martini  was  obliged  to  leave  without 
speaking  of  the  official  business  which  had 
been  the  object  of  his  visit.  This  gives  an 
idea  of  the  people  we  have  to  deal  with,  and 
of  the  etiquette  of  the  American  Government. 


2C6      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 


LXVI. 

WASHINGTON,  March  28,  1841. 

I  SOMETIMES  go  to  the  Senate,  where  I 
hear  and  see  things  which  are  inconceivable. 
They  are  having  sessions  now  which  they  call 
Executive,  because  the  Senators  confirm  the 
nominations  made  by  the  President,  who  has 
just  changed  all  the  members  of  the  Cabinet, 
and  will  change  the  most  of  the  office-holders 
in  the  country,  and  all  these  nominations  must 
be  confirmed  by  a  majority  of  the  Senate. 
The  first  question  which  has  occupied  them  is 
the  change  of  Government  Printer;  this  has 
caused  a  most  violent  discussion,  which  has 
lasted  five  days.  One  of  the  most  respectable 
Senators,  Mr.  King  of  Alabama,  who  is  one  of 
the  party  opposed  to  the  present  Government, 
defended  the  character  of  the  late  Printer, 
which  had  been  violently  attacked  by  Mr. 
Clay,  who,  affecting  to  see  in  this  a  personal 
attack  against  himself,  cried  out  that  what  Mr. 
King  had  said  was  false,  cowardly,  and  in 
famous  !  Mr.  King  replied  that  he  had  noth 
ing  to  say  in  answer  to  such  words,  but  next 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      207 

day  sent  a  challenge  to  Mr.  Clay.  The  au 
thorities  of  the  city  interfered,  and  put  them 
under  bonds  to  keep  the  peace  within  the  Dis 
trict.  This  Parliamentary  incident  gives  an 
idea  of  the  tone  of  the  Senate — the  highest 
body  in  the  United  States,  noted  for  its  intel 
ligence  and  for  the  consideration  it  enjoys. 
Mr.  Clay  is  sixty-four  years  old  and  has  been 
in  public  life  thirty-four  years,  and  looked 
upon  as  the  most  eminent  man  in  the  country. 
Mr.  King  is  sixty  years  old.  He  is  a  Senator, 
and  has  filled  many  important  offices. 

There  is  in  New  York  a  Madame  Restell, 
who  sells  powders  to  "  ladies  married  or  single," 
for  the  purpose  of  producing  abortion.  A 
lady  who  was  dying,  Mrs.  Purdy,  confessed  to 
her  husband  that  her  malady  was  brought  on 
by  Madame  Restell's  treatment,  not  only  in 
administering  these  powders,  but  by  causing 
an  operation  to  be  performed  upon  her  by  an 
accomplice,  after  which  she  felt  that  she  was 
dying.  It  was  not  till  after  this  fact,  and  the 
death  of  the  victim,  that  Madame  Restell  was 
arrested.  Until  now  the  jury  had  rejected  all 
complaints,  although  for  many  years  she  had 
pursued  this  infamous  practice,  publishing  in 


208      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

the  newspapers  the  most  curious  and  indecent 
advertisements,  notifying  ladies,  married  and 
single,  "  who  feared  to  lose  their  reputation 
by  giving  birth  to  illegitimate  children,  or  their 
beauty  by  having  too  many."  Such  things 
are  more  inconceivable  in  a  country  affecting 
great  prudery.  The  New  York  papers  say 
that  there  was  found  at  Madame  Restell's  five 
or  six  hundred  letters  from  "  ladies,  married 
and  single,"  of  the  city  and  other  places,  asking 
advice,  and  thanking  her  for  past  services. 


LXVII. 

WASHINGTON,  April  2,  1841. 

OUR  new  President  is  sick,  and  is  so  much 
worse  to-day  that  his  life  is  in  danger.  No 
President  has  ever  died  whilst  in  power ;  the 
post  of  Vice-President  has  always  been  looked 
upon  as  insignificant,  and  the  man  who  occu 
pies  this  supposed  sinecure  was  only  nomi 
nated  after  the  refusal  of  several  others.  Now 
he  will  find  himself  President  for  the  next  four 
years,  as  ordained  by  the  Constitution ;  and 
this  unlooked-for  change  causes  great  excite- 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      2OQ 

ment  in  the  country.  It  will  have  no  influence 
on  our  relations,  and  will  not  prevent  the  extra 
session  of  Congress.  The  Vice-President  is 
Mr.  Tyler  of  Virginia,  where  the  Administra 
tion  of  General  Harrison  has  met  with  oppo- 
sisition,  but  the  general  opinion  is  that  Mr. 
Tyler's  tendencies  are  more  Harrisonian  than 
Virginian. 


LXVIII. 

WASHINGTON,  April  5,  1841. 

GENERAL  HARRISON  died  yesterday.  He 
commenced  his  term  on  the  4th  of  March. 
His  reign  has  lasted  just  one  month,  and  the 
poor  old  man  has  had  nothing  but  cares  and 
worries  during  this  month  of  responsibility. 
His  death  unsettles  all  that  had  been  decided 
upon  by  the  leaders  of  the  victorious  party 
and  the  conquered,  Mr.  Van  Buren's  party, 
will  begin  to  agitate  again.  The  funeral  takes 
place  on  the  day  after  to-morrow,  and  of 
course  the  Diplomatic  Corps  are  invited. 


210     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 


LXIX. 

WASHINGTON,  April  12,  1841. 

THE  funeral  took  place  on  the  7th.  The 
procession  started  from  the  President's  house, 
and  proceeded  on  a  walk  four  miles  to  the 
cemetery.  The  ceremonies  and  the  funeral 
oration  passed  off  in  the  most  proper  manner, 
which  is  to  be  noticed  in  this  country,  where 
everything  else  is  very  strange.  The  obse 
quies  lasted  altogether  about  five  hours. 

Mr.  John  Tyler  is  a  widower,  but  has  a  son 
who  is  married,  and  his  wife  will  do  the  honors 
of  the  Presidency.  This  young  woman  was 
formerly  an  actress,  and  has  played  in  the 
theatre  in  Washington  under  the  name  of 
Miss  Cooper ;  I  had  the  imprudence  to  say 
that  she  would  represent*  very  well.  The  next 
day  it  was  repeated  to  her.  What  a  singular 
country,  where  a  woman  can  pass  from  the 
boards  of  a  theatre  to  a  kind  of  scaffolding 
which  serves  as  a  republican  throne  ! 

I  paid  a  visit  to  Mr.  Southard,  Vice-Presi- 
dent  of  the  Senate,  who,  according  to  the  Con- 

*  In  French  means  both  represent  and  act. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      211 

stitution  of  the  United  States,  will  replace  Mr. 
Tyler  in  case  of  his  death  ;  he  is  a  man  of  mid 
dle  age,  whose  manners  are  better  than  those 
of  the  present  generation. 


LXX. 

WASHINGTON,  April  25,  1841. 

ALL  the  Diplomatic  Corps  went  to  present 
their  respects  to  the  President  for  the  first 
time.  In  the  absence  of  Mr.  Fox,  who  was 
sick,  Mr.  Bodisco  made  the  address.  Mr. 
Tyler  made  a  very  appropriate  reply,  then 
came  forward,  and  gave  a  shake  hand  to  each 
of  us,  accompanied  with  a  short  speech. 
What  he  said  to  me  I  will  repeat  in  as  near 
his  own  words  as  possible  :  "  I  am  delighted  to 
make  the  acquaintance  of  the  French  Minister, 
who  comes  from  a  country  to  which  we  owe 
much,  and  to  which  we  are  united  by  the 
bonds  of  gratitude.  I  shall  endeavor  to  estab 
lish  intimate  and  friendly  relations  with  you, 
sir,  who  have  had  the  advantage  of  living  in 
intimate  relations  with  the  most  distinguished 
diplomat  in  the  whole  world  and  of  all  time. 


212      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

King  Louis  Philippe  and  Prince  Talleyrand 
while  living  here  obtained  the  right  of  citizen 
ship,  and  America  is  proud  to  count  them 
amongst  her  citizens." 

I  give  you  the  exact  words  of  the  President, 
and  I  hope  that  you  will  be  satisfied.  As  to 
me,  I  am  always  happy  to  find  myself  under 
the  protection  of  a  name  and  a  souvenir  that 
I  cherish  and  respect.  Mr.  Tyler  conducted 
himself  during  this  audience  in  a  manner  to 
satisfy  every  one;  without  being  a  man  of 
genius,  he  is  thought  to  be  greatly  superior  to 
General  Harrison. 


LXXI. 

WASHINGTON,  May  7,  1841. 

I  WENT  to  a  very  curious  entertainment, 
which  they  called  a  May  Ball.  It  is  given  by 
Mr.  Carusi,  the  dancing-master  of  all  the 
young  girls  in  town.  He  keeps  a  public 
school,  and  in  the  month  of  May  of  each  year 
these  young  ladies  always  elect  one  of  their 
number  "  Queen."  She  is  not  chosen  for  her 
beauty,  nor  for  her  talent  in  dancing,  but  for 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      213 

her  amiability  to  her  companions,  and  her 
popularity  among  all  these  little  girls  from  six 
to  sixteen  years  old.  The  one  put  upon  the 
throne  the  other  evening  was  very  ugly.  She 
is  the  daughter  of  a  doctor,  who  appeared  en 
chanted.  The  ball  commenced  at  eight 
o'clock ;  shortly  after  the  queen  made  her  tri 
umphal  entry.  Cords  had  been  stretched  the 
length  of  the  hall  to  protect  the  line  of  march. 
At  a  given  signal  the  music  played  a  National 
march,  the  doors  were  opened,  and  the  pro 
cession  filed  in :  first  the  smallest  marching 
in  step  two  by  two  ;  then  a  little  boy  about  two 
feet  high  carrying  a  velvet  cushion,  on  which 
was  the  white  crown  for  the  queen  ;  she  fol 
lowed,  leaning  very  ungracefully  on  the  arms 
of  two  companions,  and  behind  her  the  whole 
troop  arranged  according  to  height.  They 
conducted  the  queen  in  this  way  to  the  plat 
form  prepared  for  her  at  the  end  of  the  room  , 
she  mounted  the  steps,  and  it  was  immediately 
filled  by  all  the  little  people  of  this  little  court. 
Then  a  young  girl  as  ugly  as  the  queen  her 
self  approached  her  young  Majesty  and  made 
a  speech  appropriate  to  the  occasion,  to  which 
the  queen  answered  ;  after  which  the  orator 


214     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A  DIPLOMAT. 

placed  the  crown  on  the  head  of  the  sover 
eign,  who  was  on  her  knees  before  her.  The 
queen  then  got  up  and  seated  herself  in  the 
chair  placed  on  the  platform  in  imitation  of 
a  throne !  A  throne  in  America  !  The  tab 
leau  was  very  satisfactory  ;  these  blonde  heads 
with  wreaths  of  roses  gave  an  aspect  of  youth 
and  gayety,  so  in  contrast  with  American 
gloom. 

I  dined  with  General  Macomb  the  day  be 
fore  yesterday,  and  sat  next  to  Mrs.  Tyler,  the 
daughter-in-law  of  the  President,  and  formerly 
an  actress  named  Cooper ;  they  praise  her 
beauty  and  elegance  in  the  highest  terms,  but 
without  any  reason.  The  American  toilets  are 
in  very  bad  taste,  and  the  fashion  seems  to  be 
that  of  France  twenty  years  ago.  Mrs.  Tyler 
has  nothing  either  in  her  manners  or  speech 
which  would  remind  any  one  of  the  stage;  she 
embraced  this  career  only  to  satisfy  the  wishes 
of  her  family  and  against  her  own  feelings. 
She  is  simple  and  natural,  without  much  intelli 
gence.  She  has  a  child-like  way  of  saying  lit- 
*tle  things  which  are  rather  amusing;  she  knows 
no  one  yet  in  Washington.  I  made  her  talk 
about  Williamsburg,  a  little  town  in  Virginia 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      21$ 

where  she  has  lived  for  the  last  three  years. 
She  complains  that  in  this  country  married 
women  are  never  invited  anywhere,  and  that 
a  bachelor  never  dares  to  speak  to  them,  and 
says  that  out  of  Washington  and  New  York 
the  position  of  American  married  women  is 
like  that  of  the  Pariahs.  She  has  some  of  the 
prejudices  of  her  country,  amongst  others  that 
of  thinking  that  Americans  speak  English  bet 
ter  than  the  English  themselves,  and  added 
"  than  the  English  of  high  fashion  in  London." 
Altogether,  she  is  a  little  woman  who  appears 
to  be  a  very  good  fellow. 

I  have  just  heard  that  Mgr.  de  Forbin- 
Janson,  formerly  Bishop  of  Nancy,  and  wan 
dering  preacher  in  the  United  States,  is  about 
to  build  a  French  church  and  French  hospital. 
I  sent  this  turbulent  Bishop  my  modest  per 
sonal  offering  of  five  hundred  francs,  and  will 
write  to  Paris  asking  the  aid  of  Government. 
Subscriptions  from  the  King  and  Queen  would 
make  a  good  impression  here,  and  I  shall 
recommend  it. 


2l6      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 


LXXII. 

WASHINGTON,  May  18,  1841. 

PRESIDENT  TYLER  has  just  ordered  a 
National  fast  of  twenty-four  hours  on  the  oc 
casion  of  General  Harrison's  death.  Do  you 
not  think  that  it  is  a  very  singular  idea,  in  a 
Protestant  republic,  to  make  a  whole  nation 
fast  on  account  of  the  death  of  their  Chief 
Magistrate?  It  seems  to  me  a  penance  alto 
gether  arbitrary,  and  useless  in  a  country  where 
Protestantism  does  not  admit  the  efficacy  of 
prayers  for  the  dead.  This  official  fast  is  ex 
plained  only  by  the  passionate  desire  to  make 
an  effect  and  to  show  a  religious  feeling,  which 
in  fact  served  as  a  base  to  the  first  little  re 
publics  of  New  England,  but  which  has  very 
much  cooled  down  since  that  time. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bates  have  arrived  from  Lon 
don  ;  after  twelve  years'  absence  they  were 
anxious  to  see  this  country  again.  These  arc 
the  first  familiar  faces  I  have  seen  since  my 
arrival  here.  They  imagine  that  everything 
has  changed  for  the  worse  in  America,  but  I 
think  that  their  European  habits  have  very 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      21 J 

naturally  had  a  great  influence  on  their  im 
pressions.  Mrs.  Bates  finds  the  hotels  dirty, 
the  means  of  travelling  insupportable,  the  peo 
ple  ill-bred,  and  her  husband  says  that  business 
men  have  all  become  rogues,  rascals,  and  that 
the  country  is  dearer  than  England.  This  is 
the  judgment  of  two  intelligent  and  reasonable 
Americans  on  their  own  country. 


LXXIII. 

WASHINGTON,  June  6,  1841. 

I  TAKE  a  walk  every  morning  at  six  o'clock 
to  avoid  the  oppressive  heat,  and  to-day  at  this 
unusual  hour  I  met  Miss  Meade,  one  of  the 
beauties  of  Washington,  alone  in  the  street, 
going  or  coming  from  I  do  not  know  where. 
Free  manners ! 

We  were  invited  by  M.  Martini  to  enjoy  the 
moonlight  on  his  terrace  ;  the  Diplomatic  Corps 
went  on  foot.  A  terrific  storm  came  on  so  sud 
denly,  that  hosts  and  guests  were  wet  to  the 
skin  in  an  instant.  We  left  in  torrents  of  rain, 
with  lanterns  to  light  us  on  our  way,  and  each 
one  hurried  to  his  home.  But  this  storm  has 


218      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

not  cooled  the  air.  One  cannot  find  a  shady 
place  to  walk  in  :  the  streets  are  so  broad,  the 
houses  so  low,  and  trees  so  scarce  that  every 
where  one  is  broiled  by  the  sun. 

I  have  just  come  from  Mr.  Clay's,  the  great 
man  of  the  country,  who  holds  the  majority  of 
Congress  in  his  hands,  and  it  is  by  him  that 
will  be  decided  the  financial  questions  brought 
before  the  Senate  during  this  session.  Again, 
he  showed  very  kind  feeling  toward  France 
and  great  admiration  for  the  King,  and  was 
very  amiable  to  me;  but  notwithstanding  his 
fine  words,  I  felt  that  there  was  behind  all  this 
the  same  determination  :  "  We  want  money, 
and  we  cannot  raise  it  except  by  taxation  on 
foreign  merchandise  ;  everything  which  comes 
into  the  United  States  pays  duty,  except  French 
silks  and  wines,  which  are  luxuries ;  they  must 
submit  to  the  general  law.  To  make  these 
duties  as  moderate  as  possible  is  all  that  can  be 
done."  I  see  plainly  that  these  duties  are  im 
posed  from  necessity,  and  not  from  any  feeling 
of  hostility,  and  I  hope  France  will  see  it  in  the 
same  light. 

I  was  present  at  a  scene  lately  which  merits 
being  told :  I  went  to  see  the  Secretary  of  the 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      2 19 

Treasury,  and  was  shown  into  an  ante-room, 
where  a  ragged  beggar  asked  me  for  alms. 
After  a  quarter  of  an  hour  in  his  company,  I 
went  into  Mr.  Ewing's  room ;  he  excused  him 
self  very  politely  for  having  kept  me  waiting, 
which  is  the  more  remarkable  as  he  is  a  self- 
made  man :  at  eighteen  he  could  neither  read 
nor  write,  and  his  nature  must  be  a  very  supe 
rior  one  that,  from  such  a  starting-point,  he 
should  have  reached  the  post  he  now  occupies. 
He  had  only  exchanged  a  few  words  when 
three  of  his  colleagues — Mr.  Crittenden,  At 
torney-General  ;  Mr.  Bell,  Secretary  of  War ; 
and  Mr.  Badger,  Secretary  of  the  Navy — came 
in  :  Mr.  Badger  smoking  a  cigar,  which  he  did 
not  extinguish;  Mr.  Bell  laid  down  on  a  sofa, 
with  his  feet  over  the  arms,  and  thus  presenting 
the  soles  of  his  boots  to  us ;  as  to  Mr.  Crit 
tenden,  finding  it  too  warm  he  took  off  his  coat, 
and  pulled  a  great  roll  of  tobacco  from  his 
pocket,  put  it  in  his  mouth,  and  commenced 
chewing.  They  were  very  merry  and  facetious, 
and  as  I  did  not  wish  to  hurt  the  feelings  of 
men  who  were  so  influential  in  commercial 
questions,  I  joined  in  with  them. 

I   visited    the    Patent  Office    this   morning. 


220      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

This  establishment  was  originally  intended 
for  models  of  machines  for  which  the  Govern 
ment  had  given  patents,  but  they  have  ended 
by  piling  up  a  mixture  of  all  sorts  of  things — 
costumes  of  the  savages,  birds,  stuffed  fish, 
pell-mell  with  treaties  signed  by  the  United 
States  and  Louis  XVI.,  and  countersigned  by 
M.  de  Talleyrand ;  with  uniforms,  collections 
of  buttons,  skins  of  beasts,  and  insects  !  It  is 
the  most  original  Museum  I  ever  saw. 

They  have  voted  to  give  twenty-five  thou 
sand  dollars,  which  is  one  year's  salary  of  the 
President,  to  the  widow  of  General  Harrison. 


LXXIV. 

WASHINGTON,  June  21,  1841. 

THE  Comte  de  Menou  presented  me  to  one 
of  his  friends,  Miss  Harper,  niece  of  Mrs. 
Caton,  mother  of  the  Marchioness  of  Welles- 
ley  and  of  the  Duchess  of  Leeds,  grand-niece 
of  Mgr.  Coroll,  first  Archbishop  of  Baltimore, 
dead  in  the  odor  of  sanctity ;  her  family 
and  the  Harpers  are  the  best  in  the  coun 
try.  Miss  Emily  Harper  was  brought  up 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      221 

at  the  Sacre  Cceur  in  Paris;  she  seems  to 
be  a  very  pious  young  girl,  and  to  wish  that 
every  one  should  be  edified  by  her  piety. 
She  lives  in  Baltimore  during  the  winter  with 
her  mother,  who  is  a  widow,  and  in  summer 
in  a  very  pretty  villa  in  the  island  of  New-Port. 
She  is  now  alone  and  living  with  a  friend  of 
her  mother,  Mrs.  Graham,  also  a  widow,  and 
mother  of  a  very  handsome  young  man,  who 
they  say  may  probably  marry  Miss  Harper. 
M.  Menou  was  very  anxious  to  introduce  me 
to  this  house,  where  he  appears  to  be  very 
much  at  home.  These  people  have  distin 
guished  manners,  and  speak  French  very  well. 


LXXV. 

WASHINGTON,  June  29,  1841. 

GENERAL  MACOMB  is  dead,  and  the  Diplo 
matic  Corps  were  invited  to  attend  his  funeral. 
They  placed  us  at  the  end  of  the  procession, 
although  we  were  in  uniform,  which  made  the 
discourtesy  more  marked. 

I  went  to  the  theatre  for  the  first  time  since 
I  have  been  in  the  United  States,  for  I  do  not 


222      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

count  as  representations  the  ballets  of  Fanny 
Elssler.  It  was  abominable  :  I  ran  away  after 
the  first  two  acts  of  Hamlet.  Nothing  could 
be  more  sadly  grotesque  than  this  bad  acting, 
with  forced  effects  and  overpowering  tirades. 


LXXVI. 

WASHINGTON,  July  5,  1841. 

YESTERDAY  was  the  anniversary  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  of  the  United 
States,  but  as  it  fell  on  Sunday  they  put  off 
until  to-day  the  celebration  of  the  annual 
holiday,  and  I  have  been  kept  awake  since 
five  o'clock  this  morning  by  the  incessant 
noise  of  cannons  and  fire-crackers.  That  is 
the  American  fashion  of  showing  their  satis 
faction  ;  to  them  noise  personifies  joy  ! 

I  went  yesterday  to  the  Senate,  where  the 
day  before  there  had  been  some  scandalous 
scenes ;  they  were  making  apologies  and  ex 
cuses,  and  promises  of  moderation :  all  this  is 
so  ridiculous  and  disgusting. 

I  gave  a  dinner  last  Friday  to  M.  Barbezat, 
a  French  merchant  and  Consular  Agent  at 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      22$ 

Gakvcrston,  in  the  new  republic  of  Texas. 
This  republic  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  inhabitants  is  a  regular  nest  of 
bandits.  The  description  M.  Barbezat  gave 
of  their  manners,  customs,  and  acts,  of  violence 
made  me  thank  my  stars  for  having  brought 
me  only  here.  The  United  States  seems  a 
paradise  to  any  one  coming  from  Texas, 
where  one  cannot  leave  the  house  without 
being  armed  to  the  teeth.  The  Government 
is  composed  of  brigands  clothed  with  power. 
This  is  not  so  astonishing  when  one  thinks 
that  Texas  has  been  settled  by  men  who  have 
escaped  from  the  hands  of  justice  in  the 
United  States,  where  justice  is  slow  and  mild 
enough. 


224     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 


LXXVII. 

WASHINGTON,  July  17,  1841. 

I  WENT  day  before  yesterday  morning,  at 
five  o'clock,  with  M.  de  la  Fosse,  Doctor  Benit, 
and  M.  Hulman,  the  Austrian  Secretary  of 
Legation,  to  visit  Harper's  Ferry,  about  one 
hundred  miles  from  here — a  place  I  have  long 
wished  to  see.  Mr.  Jefferson  in  a  little  work, 
which  is  very  much  thought  of  here,  called 
"  Notes  on  Virginia,"  says  that  the  view  of 
Harper's  Ferry  is  worth  a  voyage  across  the  At 
lantic.  It  was  not  possible  to  be  so  near  and 
not  visit  it.  The  situation  is  remarkably  beau 
tiful.  At  the  foot  of  a  mountain  which  rises 
from  a  hollow,  two  rivers,  the  Potomac  and  the 
Shenandoah,  join,  the  one  forming  cascades 
before  uniting  with  the  other,  which  flows 
slowly  around  some  charming  islands.  On  the 
horizon  on  every  side  are  high  rocky  moun 
tains.  Unfortunately  this  magnificent  spec 
tacle  is  spoiled  day  by  day  by  the  progress  of 
civilization.  General  Washington  established 
a  factory  of  arms  there  in  1794 — the  oldest  in 
the  United  States.  In  the  last  forty  years  a 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      22$ 

great  many  houses  have  been  built,  and  now 
they  are  digging  a  canal  and  opening  a  railway 
which  will  connect  Baltimore  with  the  Ohio 
River,  more  than  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
across  the  Alleghany  Mountains.  All  these 
works  change  the  aspect  of  this  country, 
which  I  like  to  imagine  as  it  was  a  century 
ago,  inhabited  by  peaceful  Indians.  I  see 
them  in  the  midst  of  this  wild  country  hunting 
and  fishing  for  their  living,  but  now  all  this 
beauty  is  marred  by  the  disagreeable  noises  of 
the  factories.  There  is  on  one  of  these  moun 
tains  a  projecting  rock  on  which  Mr.  Jefferson 
wrote  the  description  of  the  country.  In  re 
membrance  of  this  it  is  called  Jefferson's  Rock. 
When  he  was  elected  President  of  the  United 
States,  a  detachment  of  troops  stationed  at 
Harper's  Ferry,  hearing  that  he  was  about  to 
disband  them,  tried  in  vain  to  destroy  this 
rock. 

The  manufactory  of  arms  is  a  very  poor  one. 
The  guns  made  there  are  very  expensive, 
as  everything  is  in  the  United  States,  where 
manual  labor  is  so  dear.  The  hotel,  where 
every  one  who  comes  to  admire  the  scenery 
stays,  is  a  miserable  low  place,  but  when  they 


226     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

found  out  who  we  were,  they  tried  their  best 
to  serve  us  well,  for  notwithstanding  their  pre 
tended  passion  for  equality,  Americans  are 
very  anxious  to  please  any  one  they  think  of 
importance — generally  to  get  money  out  of 
them,  but  sometimes  from  vanity,  being  very 
proud  of  having  anything  to  do  with  what 
they  call  "  celebrities." 


LXXVIII. 

WASHINGTON,  August  n,  1841. 

THE  heat  is  so  overpowering,  that  one  is 
obliged  to  walk  out  only  during  the  evening 
and  part  of  the  night.  This  is  the  time 
chosen  by  open-air  orators.  I  saw  one  the 
other  night,  a  member  of  the  Temperance 
Society,  whom  I  had  met  in  some  of  the  best 
houses  in  Washington,  preaching  on  a  plat 
form  supported  by  two  barrels.  He  gave  vent 
to  his  eloquence  by  yelling  like  a  madman. 
What  singular  manners  ! 

There  was  a  rumor  of  a  ministerial  crisis  in 
Washington,  which  caused  great  excitement. 
Three  members  of  the  Cabinet  sent  in  their 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

resignations  to  the  President,  who  managed 
with  great  skill  to  bring  about  a  reconciliation. 
The  bill  was  passed  yesterday  against  us. 
There  is  nothing  to  hope  for  ;  the  Senate  will 
follow  the  example  of  the  House.  I  have  been 
the  subject  of  discussion  in  Congress.  Mr. 
Adams  raised  a  question  of  privilege  in  regard 
to  a  communication  I  had  made  to  the  Secre 
tary  of  the  Treasury,  of  a  memorial  on  our 
commercial  relations,  which  he  had  sent  to 
a  committee  of  the  House.  I  knew  very  well 
that  this  was  not  the  form  required,  and  that 
my  communication  should  have  been  made  to 
the  Secretary  of  State,  who  is  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs  ;  but  he  had  from  the  beginning 
referred  me  to  his  colleague  of  the  Treasury, 
and  as  I  had  a  particular  reason  for  preferring 
this  channel,  I  made  use  of  it.  They  cannot 
blame  me  with  any  justice.  As  to  Messieurs 
the  Secretaries  of  State  and  Treasury,  let  them 
get  out  of  it  the  best  way  they  can  :  it  is  their 
affair.  The  discussion  is  favorable  to  France 
in  this  much,  that  it  proves  they  are  taking  an 
interest  in  French  commerce,  notwithstand 
ing  what  is  said  in  some  of  the  newspapers, 
who  accuse  the  French  Government  and  its 


228      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

agents  of  carelessness  and  ignorance.  All  this 
disturbance  shows  how  disagreeable  it  is  to 
have  any  negotiations  with  Americans,  whose 
institutions  are  so  badly  combined  that  one 
never  knows  through  whom  or  how  to  make 
official  communications.  The  President,  to 
whom  I  went  to  complain  of  this  imbroglio, 
apologized  very  politely  for  my  name  having 
been  mixed  up  with  affairs  to  which  I  was  a 
perfect  stranger,  and  he  blamed  Mr.  Adams 
very  strongly  for  having  provoked  the  discus 
sion. 

Things  are  getting  very  complicated.  They 
say  the  President  has  vetoed  the  bill  to  create 
a  National  Bank.  If  that  is  done,  all  the  pres 
ent  parties  will  be  dissolved,  and  another  party 
formed  on  other  grounds.  A  caricature  has 
been  circulated  representing  the  President 
seated  at  a  table,  holding  a  pen  in  his  hand, 
ready  to  sign  a  large  paper  before  him,  and 
above  is  written,  "  To  sign,  or  not  to  sign- 
that  is  the  question."  A  large  steamboat  was 
entirely  destroyed  by  fire  on  Lake  Erie.  Out 
of  two  hundred  passengers  only  thirty  were 
saved. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      2  29 

LXXIX. 

WASHINGTON,  August  14,  1841. 

I  SEE  by  the  papers  that  the  frigate  Belle- 
Poule,  commanded  by  the  Prince  de  Joinville, 
is  expected  at  New  York.  I  hope  she  will  not 
arrive  for  a  week  yet,  for  just  now,  as  the 
grand  crisis  approaches,  I  cannot  leave  Wash 
ington.  In  two  days  they  expect  the  return 
of  the  Bank  Bill  with  the  President's  veto, 
which  will  create  an  excitement  throughout  the 
country.  Nothing  so  serious  has  happened 
for  a  long  time  in  the  United  States,  and  I 
cannot  abandon  my  post  at  such  a  time. 

A  man  from  the  State  of  Ohio  has  written 
to  the  Mayor  of  Washington  that  this  city  is 
threatened  by  a  terrible  earthquake,  which  will 
be  preceded  by  a  very  remarkable  event.  At 
the  very  time  the  Mayor  was  reading  the  let 
ter  a  water-spout  destroyed  the  greater  part 
of  the  public  market  and  injured  several 
houses.  This  was  thought  to  be  the  precursor 
indicated  by  the  writer  of  the  letter ;  and  last 
night  all  the  negro  population  and  many  of 
the  whites  went  some  distance  from  Washing 
ton  to  sleep.  As  to  me,  I  remained  quietly  in 


230      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

bed,  as  you  may  suppose.  However,  I  ran  a 
real  danger,  though  of  a  different  nature  from 
the  one  expected:  we  have  all  been  more  or 
less  poisoned  by  verdigris. 


LXXX. 

WASHINGTON,  August  17,  1841. 
A  GREAT  many  Representatives  and  others 
invaded  the  Senate  Chamber  yesterday.  The 
President's  Message  announcing  his  veto  of 
the  Bank  Bill  was  read  in  the  midst  of  great 
excitement.  There  was  much  applause  and 
one  hiss ;  the  man  who  hissed  was  drunk.  In 
stead  of  arresting  him,  as  they  wanted  to  do 
at  first,  they  contented  themselves  with  put 
ting  him  out  of  the  hall.  The  sitting  had 
nothing  imposing  about  it :  they  seemed  more 
inclined  to  joke  about  it  than  to  be  angry,  and 
the  crowd  dispersed  very  quietly.  That  same 
evening  I  went  to  see  the  President,  to  inform 
him  of  my  intention  of  going  to  New  York  to 
await  the  arrival  of  the  Prince  de  Joinville. 
I  found  Mr.  Tyler  completely  overcome  by 
the  feverish  state  of  excitement  in  the  coun 
try,  and  all  that  had  taken  place. 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT.      231 


LXXXI. 

PHILADELPHIA,  August  27,  1841. 
I  HAVE  been  so  sick  from  our  poisoning 
that  I  was  not  able  to  leave  Washington  until 
yesterday ;  luckily  my  young  Prince  is  not  in 
New  York.  I  cannot  take  a  step  without 
meeting  Fanny  Elssler.  I  thought  she  had 
gone  back  to  Europe,  and  I  find  her  here, 
where  she  is  going  to  dance. 


LXXXII. 

NEW  YORK,  August  29,  1841. 

No  one  knows  anything  about  the  arrival  of 
the  Belle-Poule  ;  so  I  shall  hasten  my  trip  to 
Niagara  before  the  season  becomes  too  ad 
vanced,  and  profit  by  the  company  of  Doctor 
Benit,  that  I  may  not  be  obliged  to  go  alone. 
The  time  for  his  departure  to  South  America 
approaches,  unfortunately.  I  shall  regret  this 
excellent  man  very  much. 


232      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 


LXXXIIL 

ALBANY,  September  i,  1841. 

I  LEFT  New  York  at  five  o'clock  this  morn 
ing  on  a  superb  steamboat,  which  took  me  up 
the  North  River  to  this  place  in  ten  hours. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  rivers  in  the 
United  States. 


LXXXIV. 

SYRACUSE,  September  2,  1841. 

WHAT  do  you  say  to  this  pompous  name? 
Many  others  just  as  pretentious  are  to  be  met 
with  in  every  part  of  the  United  States. 
Since  seven  o'clock  this  morning,  when  I  left 
Albany,  I  have  in  travelling  one  hundred  and 
sixty  miles  passed  through  cities  and  villages 
named  ScJienestady,  Amsterdam,  Francfort, 
Palatine,  Rome,  Manheim,  Onesda,  Manlius, 
Uttica,  and  all  that  to  arrive  at  Syracuse,  where 
I  am  very  badly  lodged.  But  I  cannot  tell 
you  all  the  pleasure  I  felt  yesterday  in  follow 
ing  the  course  of  the  Hudson  ;  it  is  far  more 
beautiful  than  the  Rhine.  It  is  true  that  this 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      233 

river  of  the  New  World  has  none  of  the  histor 
ic  souvenirs  of  the  Rhine,  which  interests  you 
with  its  ruins  and  legends.  The  history  at 
tached  to  the  banks  of  the  Hudson  is  of  a 
kind  entirely  different.  I  passed  by  the  place 
where  Major  Andre",  the  English  spy,  was 
hung;  further,  the  spot  where  Arnold  met  the 
English  officer.  Albany  is  a  very  beautiful 
city,  built  in  the  form  of  an  amphitheatre ; 
there  are  several  palaces — for  the  Legislature, 
for  the  courts  of  justice,  and  for  the  Govern 
ment  ;  for  Albany  is  the  capital  of  New  York, 
and  has  forty  thousand  inhabitants.  This 
morning  we  passed  through  the  ravishing  val 
ley  of  the  Mohawek  River,  which  winds 
through  this  valley  in  the  most  picturesque 
manner;  sometimes  the  route  is  so  narrow, 
that  the  four  different  ways  of  communication 
touch  each  other,  for  there  are  following  a  par 
allel  course  the  river,  a  superb  canal,  the  rail 
way,  and  a  road.  Sometimes  the  country  is 
wild  and  absolutely  uninhabited,  then  one  per 
ceives  near  the  numerous  falls  on  the  river 
saw-mills  and  grist-mills.  This  valley  of  the 
Mohawek  is  the  poetic  ground  in  the  history 
of  the  Indians:  it  is  here  that  the  tribe  of  the 


234      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

Oneidas  lived,  the  Oumvdagas  and  the  Oswe- 
gas ;  near  iiere  is  Lake  Cayuga,  and  not  far 
off  Lake  Ontario,  on  which  I  embark  this 
evening.  But  I  am  wrong  in  talking  to  you 
of  the  poetic  remembrances  of  the  Indians 
— to  you  who  have  so  little  enthusiasm  for  M. 
de  Chateaubriand.  There  still  remain  a  few 
unhappy  descendants  of  this  race :  I  met  this 
morning  at  Oneida  five  poor  Indian  women 
of  the  tribe  of  the  Oneidas;  they  offered  to 
the  passengers,  in  a  suppliant  manner,  differ 
ent  objects  worked  in  pearls.  The  Americans 
examined  them,  bargained,  did  not  buy  any 
thing,  and  went  away,  saying,  "  Those  things 
are  perfectly  useless ;  those  people  will  never 
know  how  to  make  their  living."  Americans 
have  no  pity  for  the  Indians,  but  accuse  us  of 
want  of  philanthropy  in  our  war  with  the 
Algerians. 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT.      235 


LXXXV. 

CATARACT  HOUSE,  NIAGARA  FALLS,  September  5,  1841. 

I  HAVE  at  last  arrived  at  this  place,  which 
is  so  renowned.  I  have  seen,  contemplated, 
and  admired,  but  not  with  unmixed  pleasure, 
as  you  will  see  by  the  following  account.  The 
day  before  yesterday  I  left  Syracuse  in  a 
canal-boat,  which  is  a  kind  of  galiot  like  those 
which  formerly  went  from  Paris  to  St.  Cloud  ; 
a  means  of  transport  which  is  the  slowest,  the 
most  annoying  and  tiresome  that  one  can  ima- 
agine.  There  were  forty-five  of  us,  packed  in 
the  smallest  space  possible,  elbowing  and 
crowding  each  other,  and  suffering  with  the 
most  intolerable  heat,  and  this  from  nine 
o'clock  in  the  morning  to  six  in  the  evening. 
We  went  by  the  Aswega  Canal,  which  runs  be 
tween  the  shore  of  the  lake  of  this  name  and 
the  Senecca  River.  The  country  is  very  wild 
and  rough,  with  woods  and  streams  everywhere. 
Just  as  we  arrived  at  Oswega  the  rain  began 
to  fall  in  torrents,  with  peals  of  thunder,  and 
flashes  of  lightning  to  replace  the  light  of  the 
day,  which  had  just  ended.  We  were  obliged 


236      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

to  walk  a  mile  through  very  deep  mud,  to 
reach  the  steamboat  United  States,  which  was 
waiting  for  us  on  Lake  Ontario.  We  reached 
there  covered  with  mud,  and  wet  through. 
The  lake  was  so  rough  that  we  were  almost 
all  sea-sick.  It  is  seventy  miles  long,  sixty 
broad,  and  two  hundred  feet  deep ;  the  storm 
produced  a  very  beautiful  effect. 

I  found  M.  Miollet  and  his  travelling  com 
panion,  M.  Ducatel  of  Baltimore,  on  board. 
They  had  been  detained  three  days  at  Osivega 
by  a  serious  accident  on  the  canal-boat.  M. 
Ducatel  had  not  lowered  his  head  enough  to 
pass  under  a  bridge,  and  had  his  arm  broken  : 
lucky  that  he  was  not  killed.  This  brave 
man  is  not  very  delicate,  for  he  continues  his 
journey  with  his  arm  bandaged,  and  will  ac 
company  M.  Miollet  down  the  Mississippi 
River.  We  shall  probably  separate  this  even 
ing. 

Our  journey,  which  ought  to  have  been  over 
at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  was  prolonged 
to  noon — thanks  to  the  storm.  At  last  we 
araived  at  Lewistown  on  the  Niagara  River, 
where  we  took  a  carriage  which  brought  us  to 
Niagara  Falls.  The  weather  having  become 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT.      237 

superb,  we  immediately  descended  one  hun 
dred  and  eighty  steps  to  the  banks  of  the 
river  Niagara,  from  which  place  we  could  see 
the  Falls  from  the  American  side,  disappoint 
ing  me  so  much  that  I  already  regretted  hav 
ing  undertaken  this  fatiguing  journey;  but 
soon  my  admiration  surpassed  anything  I 
could  believe  possible  for  any  one  to  feel. 
We  had  crossed  to  the  other  side  in  a  little 
boat, — the  English  side, — where  we  found  a 
guide  in  a  red  dress.  We  were  on  British 
ground.  We  had  climbed  across  rocks  and 
frightful  paths  to  a  height  parallel  to  that 
from  which  we  had  descended  to  the  opposite 
shore.  When  we  had  reached  the  summit  we 
were  shown  the  celebrated  places  of  the  sur 
rounding  country:  first,  the  battlefield  where 
the  Americans  beat  the  English  in  1813  ;  then 
a  spring  of  hydrogen,  which  ignited  when 
brought  in  contact  with  a  lighted  candle ; 
and  last,  the  Table  Rock,  from  which  the 
Fall  is  seen. 

It  is  the  most  magnificent  spectacle,  the 
grandest,  the  most  solemn,  the  most  gigantic, 
that  I  have  seen  in  my  life !  After  falling 
seventy  feet,  the  river  reaches  a  horseshoe  of 


238      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

rocks,  from  which  it  falls  one  hundred  and 
sixty  feet,  with  immense  waves  and  foam,  and 
with  a  noise  that  nothing  could  give  you  an 
idea  of.  The  water,  green  and  brilliant  as  the 
emerald,  flows  rapidly  toward  the  Fall,  and 
loses  itself  in  the  snow-white  foam,  which  is 
thrown  up  from  the  abyss  in  clouds  of  vapor, 
through  which  you  could  see  nothing  if  it 
were  not  that  a  permanent  rainbow,  during 
the  setting  of  the  sun,  pierces  these  white 
clouds  and  lightens  every  point.  In  one  word, 
it  is  splendid  and  sublime !  I  cannot  paint 
this  magnificent  scene,  or  describe  the  pro 
found  impression  it  made  upon  me.  Human 
ity  disappears  entirely  before  a  superhuman 
power.  We  were  obliged  to  leave  this  unique 
spectacle  sooner  than  we  wished,  as  it  was 
necessary  to  cross  to  the  American  side  before 
the  sun  had  set,  or  remain  where  we  were  un 
til  the  next  day.  We  stopped,  however,  a  few 
minutes  to  see  a  live  rattlesnake  in  a  glass 
case,  through  which  we  could  distinctly  hear 
the  noise  he  made  whenever  he  moved  his 
tail;  it  was  like  the  sound  of  two  rattles 
shaken  together. 

I  also  saw  the  barracks  occupied  by  six  hun- 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      239 

dred  and  fifty  English  soldiers  who  guard  the 
frontier ;  the  officers  are  most  of  them  mar 
ried,  and  live  with  their  wives  in  little  wooden 
houses  scattered  around  the  barracks.  What 
a  fate  during  six  months  of  the  year  ! — they 
have  no  other  horizon  than  sky  and  snow. 

We  crossed  again  in  our  little  boat,  a  quar 
ter  of  a  mile  at  most,  from  the  Fall,  and  two 
hundred  feet  above  the  bottom  of  the  abyss. 


LXXXVI. 

BUFFALO  ON  THE  LAKE  ERIE,  September  5,  1841. 
AFTER  writing  this  morning,  I  took  Mr. 
Hooker,  who  has  been  a  guide  here  for  twenty- 
five  years,  and  with  Doctor  Benit  and  my 
valet,  went  to  Goat's  Island,  which  is  on  the 
American  side  and  divides  the  Falls  of 
Niagara.  It  is  covered  with  magnificent  trees, 
and  there  are  beautiful  views  from  different 
points.  I  went  down  two  hundred  steps  to 
reach  the  lowest  part  of  the  Falls,  and  was 
then  obliged  to  walk  half  a  mile  across 
stones  and  rocks,  in  the  midst  of  clouds  of 
mist.  I  jumped  on  to  a  rock  underneath  the 


240      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

fall,  and  sheltered  in  this  way  was  able  to  see 
the  torrents  falling  before  me  without  any 
danger  except  of  a  bath,  as  the  foam  in  evap 
orating  made  the  atmosphere  very  wet.  It 
was  superb  to  find  one's  self  below  such  a 
gigantic  fall,  but  a  little  frigJitful. 

We  arrived  at  four  in  the  afternoon  at 
Buffalo,  which  is  near  Lake  Erie.  This  city 
twenty-five  years  ago  had  only  thirty  houses  ; 
now  the  population  is  40,000.  Buffalo  is 
called  The  Queen  of  the  Lakes.  The  fact  is 
that  its  present  and  future  importance  will  not 
be  one  of  the  least  wonders  of  the  United 
States.  Its  situation  is  ravishing. 


LXXXVII. 

ROCHESTER,  September  6,  1841. 
I  LEFT  Buffalo  this  morning  at  seven  o'clock 
in  a  stage-coach :  nine  of  us  were  piled  in,  one 
on  top  of  the  other.  We  stopped  at  Batavia 
for  dinner  at  three  o'clock,  and  at  five  arrived 
here,  after  having  travelled  through  one  of  the 
prettiest  parts  of  New  York  State. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      241 


LXXXVIII. 

UTICA,  September  7,  1841. 

WE  travelled  yesterday  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  by  railway  through  the  lake  coun 
try,  partly  along  the  shores  of  Lakes  Canau- 
daigna,  Seneca,  Cayuga,  Owasco,  Skuneatcles, 
and  One'ida,  one  prettier  than  the  other,  and 
all  bearing  Indian  names,  while  the  towns  are 
ridiculously  called  Geneva,  Waterloo,  Lodi, 
Victor,  Palmyra,  Byron,  and  Vienna.  This 
country  would  be  an  ideal  one  if  it  was  civi 
lized  according  to  our  ideas,  and  not  in  the 
American  fashion — the  most  disagreeable  of 
all.  We  stopped  at  Auburn,  celebrated  for  its 
prison  ;  we  dined  there.  But  that  is  the  pain- 
ful  side  of  travelling  in  America  :  it  is  impos 
sible  to  eat  the  atrocious  things  they  serve  to 
you — tough  meat,  spiced,  and  stewed  in  the 
most  awful  sauces;  impossible  to  get  a  cutlet, 
or  even  an  egg. 


242      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 


LXXXIX. 

ALBANY,  September  8,  1841. 

I  HAVE  been  taking  a  walk  through  the  city 
of  Albany,  which  is  situated  on  the  Hudson 
and  built  in  the  shape  of  an  amphitheatre  ;  it 
has  a  grand  appearance.  When  I  get  back  to 
New  York  I  shall  have  travelled  sixteen  hun 
dred  English  miles,  or  four  hundred  French 
leagues,  in  nine  days,  sleeping  every  night  in 
a  hotel,  except  one  night  passed  on  Lake 
Ontario.  The  rapidity  is  wonderful,  but  very 
disagreeable  on  account  of  the  bad  manage 
ment  in  the  means  of  transportation  and  in 
the  places  one  has  to  stop  at. 


xc. 

NEW  YORK,  September  14,  1841. 
A  HORRIBLE  affair  has  taken  place  here; 
General  Alvear,  the  father  of  the  victim,  told 
me  about  it  himself.  On  the  6th  of  the  month, 
Mr.  Alvear,  a  young  man  highly  educated  and 
with  very  agreeable  manners,  whose  father  is  a 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT.      243 

Member  of  Congress  from  one  of  the  Southern 
States,  was  sitting  with  several  young  New- 
Yorkers  in  Niblo's  Garden,  when  some  one, 
who  was  known  afterward  to  be  a  Mr.  Suy- 
dam,  struck  him,  from  behind,  three  blows 
with  a  dagger,  cutting  his  lips  and  horribly 
mutilating  the  lower  part  of  his  face.  Niblo's 
Garden  is  the  Tivoli  of  New  York.  Almost  all 
the  Americans  carry  daggers  in  their  pockets. 
Mr.  Alvear,  taken  by  surprise,  cried  out,  and 
tried  to  seize  his  assassin,  who  escaped  without 
being  interfered  with  by  any  of  the  spectators 
of  this  dreadful  scene,  and  no  policeman  at 
tempted  to  look  for  the  murderer.  Later  one 
of  Mr.  Alvear's  friends  found  Mr.  Suydam, 
and  asked  him  why  he  committed  this'  cruel 
assault.  He  said,  "  Because  Mr.  Alvear  made 
love  to  my  wife."  "  But  why  did  you  not  take 
your  revenge  like  a  man  of  honor?"  Mr.  Suy 
dam  replied,  "  I  am  not  a  man  of  honor  in  his 
eyes,  but  a  blackleg,  and  he  would  not  have 
fought  with  me."  The  newspapers  gave  an 
account  of  the  affair,  treating  it  in  a  jocose  way, 
and  laughing  at  Mr.  Alvear  for  having  written 
amorous  letters  to  Mrs.  Suydam.  It  seems 
that  this  lady  has  been  known  to  have  received 


244      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT, 

% 

favorably  declarations  more  compromising 
than  could  be  made  by  letter,  and  that  Mr. 
Suydam  was  only  a  contraband  husband  and 
gambler  by  profession.  What  made  it  harder 
for  Mr.  Alvear  to  have  received  this  attack 
from  the  husband  was  that  one  of  his  friends 
was  the  real  culprit.  In  any  case  it  is  disgust 
ing,  and  covers  the  American  with  a  varnish  of 
barbarism  difficult  to  be  found  even  amongst 
savages. 

I  hear  that  affairs  in  Washington  are  getting 
very  much  embroiled.  President  Tyler  has 
vetoed  a  new  bill ;  this  is  a  very  strong  meas 
ure,  and  I  think  a  wise  one.  All  the  members 
of  his  Cabinet  resigned  except  Mr.  Webster. 
The  President  immediately  nominated  others 
to  replace  them.  Congress  adjourned  two 
days  ago,  but  unfortunately  before  adjourning 
passed  the  famous  bill  which  has  given  me  so 
much  care  and  trouble  during  the  last  six 
months.  I  am  beaten,  badly  beaten,  as  I  fore 
saw,  and  I  expect  a  great  outcry  in  France  ;  but 
I  feel  that  I  have  done  all  that  I  possibly 
could,  and  my  mind  is  easy.  The  most  scan 
dalous  scenes  have  taken  place  in  Congress : 
insults  passed,  and  even  blows.  What  a  curi- 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMA  T.      245 

ous  world,  or  rather  what  a  world  of  curious 
people ! 

To  put  a  stop  to  things,  a  committee  ad  hoc 
was  appointed:  they  proposed  to  fine  any 
member  one  hundred  dollars  who  should  insult 
another,  and  to  expel  any  one  who  should 
strike  a  blow.  What  manners !  My  God ! 
what  have  I  done  to  be  obliged  to  live 
amongst  such  people?  He  who  struck  the 
first  blow  was  one  of  those  who  were  most  use 
ful  to  me  in  my  difficulties  about  the  duties. 
With  all  my  heart  I  shall  welcome  my  recall, 
should  it  be  to  transfer  me  to  the  Republic  of 
San  Marino.  Everything  about  the  Americans 
is  repugnant  to  me — their  opinions,  their  man 
ners,  their  habits,  their  character !  M.  de 
Talleyrand  often  said  that  there  was  no  base 
to  American  society,  because  moral  sense  did 
not  exist  in  it.  I  am  more  and  more  im 
pressed  with  the  truth  of  this  observation. 
Another  social  condition  is  wanting  to  the 
Americans,  and  that  is  the  ties  of  family, 
which  their  anxiety  for  continual  movement 
has  succeeded  in  destroying.  All  the  men  are 
occupied  in  trying  to  make  money,  and  only 
live  for  that :  in  their  eyes  a  swindler  is  a  very 


246      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

clever  man,  so  long  as  he  keeps  within  the  law. 
Mgr.  Forbin-Janson  has  left  here  after  hav 
ing  quarrelled  with  everybody:  his  church  is 
hardly  above  ground ;  let  anybody  finish  it 
who  wants  to. 


XCI. 

NEW  YORK,  September  17,  1841. 

COMING  back  from  my  walk  I  met  a  long 
procession  of  Freemasons,  who  here  take  as 
much  care  to  display  their  ribbons  and  em 
blems  as  their  brothers  in  Europe  do  to  con 
ceal  theirs.  More  than  six  hundred  well- 
dressed  men  composed  this  procession.  Free 
masonry  exists  in  the  United  States  on  a 
great  scale ;  it  is  almost  a  political  institution, 
and  serves  at  the  same  time  as  a  distraction  to 
men  who  have  so  little  to  amuse  them,  and 
also  of  distinction  to  these  fiery  Democrats 
who,  in  spite  of  their  pretended  love  of  equal 
ity,  strive  to  appear  superior  the  one  to  the 
other. 

Mr.  Radgers,  a  banker  who  has  large  trans 
actions  with  France,  showed  me  everything 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT.      247 

connected  with  the  two  principal  institutions 
in  New  York — the  Custom-house  and  the 
Stock  Exchange:  this  last  edifice  is  built  en 
tirely  of  granite  and  iron. 


XCII. 

NEW  YORK,  September  20,  1841. 
A    STEAMER    which    touched     at     Halifax 
brings  the   news  that  the  Prince  de  Joinville 
left  that  place  for  New  York  on  the  i6th;  we 
expect  him  at  any  moment. 


XCIIL 

NEW  YORK,  September  21,  1841. 

THE  Prince  de  Joinville,  for  whom  we  have 
waited  so  long,  was  last  night  in  sight  of  port, 
and  will  no  doubt  be  here  in  a  few  hours.  He 
sent  the  brig  Cassard  in  advance. 

The  commander  of  the  brig  came  to  the 
French  Consulate  to  get  some  packages  which 
had  been  sent  from  Paris  for  the  Prince,  who, 
it  seems,  intends  to  spend  six  weeks  in  the 


248      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

United  States.  After  resting  in  New  York 
four  or  five  days,  he  will  leave  the  Belle-Poule 
and  the  Cassard  there,  and  travel  through  the 
interior  of  the  United  States. 


XCIV. 

NEW  YORK,  September  22,  1841. 
OUR  young  Prince  arrived  yesterday :  we 
had  sent  a  steamboat  to  tow  his  vessel  up,  as 
there  was  no  wind.  M.  de  la  Forest  and  I 
went  on  another  steamboat  to  wait  for  him  at 
Quarantine,  where  we  supposed  he  would  be 
detained.  Just  as  we  arrived  he  passed  with 
his  beautiful  frigate,  and  pursued  his  way 
without  being  interfered  with.  We  were 
obliged  to  retrace  our  steps,  and  arrived  at 
New  York  shortly  after  him.  We  went  on 
board  the  Bdle-Poule,  where  the  Prince 
received  us  in  the  most  charming  manner  and 
kept  us  to  dinner.  It  was  four  o'clock,  and 
we  were  to  dine  at  five ;  in  the  interval  the 
Prince  took  me  apart,  and  told  me  that  the 
first  time  he  came  to  the  United  States  while 
in  Washington  he  had  behaved  in  such  a  way 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT.      249 

that  he  had  now  been  sent  back  from  France 
to  make  amends,  for  his  error.  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  who  was  President  at  that  time,  asked 
him  how  long  he  intended  to  stay  in  Wash:ng- 
ton ;  he  told  him  that  he  was  going  to  leave 
next  day.  Notwithstanding  this  reply  Mr. 
Van  Buren  invited  him  to  dine  next  day, 
which  invitation  the  Prince  did  not  think  he 
was  obliged  to  accept.  This  produced  great 
dissatisfaction  and  disagreeable  remarks,  which 
were  reported  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Atlantic.  The  Prince  charged  M.  Pontois 
to  make  his  excuses,  but  he  received  ^.fameux 
galop* — this  is  his  expression, — and  the  King 
peremptorily  ordered  him  to  return  to  the 
United  States  and  accept  an  invitation  to 
dinner.  Consequently  he  will  go  immediately 
to  Washington  and  stay  there  long  enough  to 
avoid  another  scolding. 

After  that  he  will  go  to  Norfolk  to  see 
the  French  vessels  which  are  there,  and  then 
travel  through  the  interior,  visiting  the  Ohio, 
the  Mississippi,  etc.,  etc. 

He  told  me  all  this  in  a  very  gay  and  lively 

*  Severe  reprimand. 


250      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

manner,  treating  me  with  great  amiability. 
Positively  he  is  a  charming  prince.  His  band, 
which  is  a  very  fine  one,  played  during  dinner, 
and  I  was  delighted  to  hear  French  airs  again. 
His  frigate  is  a  magnificent  vessel,  and  I  felt 
a  profound  joy  mixed  with  sadness,  feeling 
myself  in  France  and  surrounded  by  sailors 
speaking  French.  Unhappily  I  was  sicker 
than  usual.  His  Royal  Majesty  saw  it,  and 
ordered  his  physician  to  visit  me  this  morning, 
and  I  am  now  waiting  to  see  Doctor  Guillard, 


xcv. 

NEW  YORK,  September  24,  1841. 

I  WAS  at  M.  de  la  Forest's  this  morning 
when  the  Prince  arrived  there ;  he  gave  us 
his  orders  for  the  reception  of  the  Consuls  and 
all  the  French  on  board  the  Belle-Poule  this 
morning. 

I  presented  my  attache,  M.  de  Mon 
tholon,  to  him,  whom  he  was  pleased  to 
accept  as  his  travelling  companion  in  his 
journey  through  the  interior.  We  made  out 
a  plan  for  his  guidance,  but  I  am  afraid  the 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      2$  I 

season  is  so  far  advanced  that  he  will  be 
obliged  to  shorten  this  excursion.  I  am  more 
and  more  ravished  with  our  young  Prince,  who 
joins  to  a  great  dignity  the  most  complete 
simplicity ;  he  charms  every  one  who  has  the 
honor  to  approach  him. 

I  told  him  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rivers  had 
expressed  a  wish  to  pay  their  respects  to  him 
on  board  his  frigate  (Mr.  Rivers  was  Ameri 
can  Minister  in  Paris  in  1830):  he  chose  to  go 
himself  to  see  Mrs.  Rivers,  who  was  beside 
herself  with  joy,  and  of  whom  a  great  many 
were  envious  on  account  of  this  visit. 


XCVI. 

WASHINGTON,  September  28,  1841. 
I  LEFT  New  York  on  the  25th,  to  precede  the 
Prince,  who  arrives  to-morrow  ;  but  I  was  disa 
greeably  detained  in  Philadelphia  by  the  puri 
tanical  hypocrisy  which  does  not  allow  travel 
ling  on  Sunday.  I  was,  however,  very  anxious 
to  be  in  Washington  to  prepare  for  the  recep 
tion  of  his  Royal  Highness.  I  arranged  this 
morning  with  Mr.  Fox,  the  doyen  of  the  Dip- 


252      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

lomatic  Corps,  the  question  of  the  visit  which 
this  Corps  ought  to  pay  him.  I  have  also  been 
to  see  the  President,  already  notified  of  the 
arrival  of  the  Prince,  and  who,  after  the  infor 
mation  I  caused  to  be  transmitted  to  him  from 
New  York,  was  prepared  to  receive  him.  He 
was  very  anxious  and  desirous  to  be  agreeable 
to  his  Royal  Highness.  Mr.  Webster,  Secre 
tary  of  State,  left  Washington  this  morning.  I 
am  not  sorry  for  this  discourteous  act,  for  he 
is  pretentious,  tiring,  and  would  have  bored  us. 
Mr.  Legare,  one  of  the  new  Members  of  the 
Cabinet,  who  is  amiable,  and  speaks  French 
very  well,  will  replace  Mr.  Webster,  which  will 
be  far  more  agreeable  for  the  Prince. 

I  must  tell  you  of  a  charming  piece  of  sim 
plicity  on  the  part  of  Miss  Tyler,  the  daughter 
of  the  President,  who  by  the  way  is  very 
pretty.  I  had  scarcely  said  good-evening 
yesterday,  than  she  asked  with  a  very  injured 
air,  "  Is  it  true,  sir,  that  the  Prince  of  Join- 
ville  is  engaged  to  a  Princess  of  the  Nether 
lands  ?"  I  hastened  to  assure  her  that  my 
Prince,  a  very  handsome  young  man,  was  abso 
lutely  free,  and  that  all  the  American  ladies 
could  have  a  chance  to  gain  his  affections — 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT.      2$  3 

but  I  did  not  say  his  hand.  I  have  no  doubt 
that  the  idea  of  making  herself  agreeable  to 
the  Prince  and  marrying  him  was  the  thought 
in  this  young  lady's  mind. 


XCVII. 

WASHINGTON,  September  30,  1841. 

His  Royal  Highness  arrived  yesterday  at 
eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  with  five  offi 
cers  :  Captain  Lugeol,  commanding  the  brig 
Cassard ;  M.  Touchard,  aide-de-camp ;  M. 
Fabre,  lieutenant  of  the  Belle-Poule ;  M.  Ger- 
vais,  midshipman  of  the  first  class ;  and  M. 
Roussin,  son  of  the  Admiral,  midshipman  of 
the  second  class. 

I  waited  for  the  Prince  at  the  railway 
station,  and  took  him  in  my  carriage  to  the 
hotel,  where  apartments  had  been  kept  for 
him ;  I  told  him  of  the  arrangements  made  for 
his  stay  here,  which,  to  his  great  satisfaction, 
need  not  be  more  than  thirty-six  hours. 

I  accompanied  him  to  the  President's,  where 
the  officers  and  the  members  of  the  Legation 
also  were.  The  reception  was  rather  dull.  The 


254      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

Prince  told  me  that  he  was  deafer  than  usual : 
he  speaks  very  low,  and  is  very  timid  about 
speaking  English ;  the  President  could  hardly 
hear  him,  much  less  understand  him.  His 
Royal  Highness  and  all  of  us  dine  soon  with 
Mr.  Tyler. 

The  Prince,  with  his  suite  and  all  the  Lega 
tion,  dined  with  me  yesterday  ;  he  appeared  to 
enjoy  a  few  hours'  relief  from  public  notice. 
He  talked  with  great  ease  and  good-humor. 
He  is  really  endowed  with  remarkable  intelli 
gence,  which  he  shows  in  everything  he  says 
without  the  slightest  effort.  He  frankly  told 
me  that  the  future  looked  very  threatening, 
and  that  a  rupture  between  England  and  the 
United  States  was  imminent.  He  placed  the 
frigate  and  brig  under  my  orders  during  his 
absence,  leaving  instructions  to  his  officers  to 
be  guided  by  my  advice. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      2$$ 

XCVIII. 

WASHINGTON,  October  i,  1841. 

THE  Prince  has  just  left  for  Baltimore.  He 
told  me  that  he  was  very  well  satisfied  with 
his  stay  here,  and  with  what  I  had  done  to 
make  it  as  endurable  and  short  as  possible. 
I  presented  the  Diplomatic  Corps  to  him  yes 
terday.  Nothing  particular  occurred,  except 
that  Lord  Prudhoe,  brother  of  the  Duke  of 
Northumberland,  and  another  Englishman, 
whose  name  I  have  forgotten,  who  had  asked 
to  be  presented  to  his  Royal  Highness,  came 
in  frock-coats,  and  altogether  badly  dressed, 
which  was  more  like  the  American  than  the 
English  usage.  They  went  to  dinner  at  the 
President's  later  in  dress-coats. 

This  dinner  passed  off  better  than  I  had 
hoped.  It  only  lasted  one  hour  and  a  half. 
Miss  Tyler,  with  her  usual  simplicity  and 
frankness,  declared  that  she  had  lost  her  heart 
to  my  Prince,  to  whom  I  repeated  this  signifi 
cant  speech.  Wishing  to  acknowledge  it,  he 
made  up  his  mind  to  talk  with  Miss  Tyler, 
although  he  had  told  me  that  his  timidity  was 
so  great  that  he  never  talked  with  women. 


256      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

The  grand  reception  in  the  evening  was 
ridiculous  and  tiresome.  Happily  the  Prince 
with  his  natural  gayety,  amused  himself  with 
the  strange  toilettes  of  the  women,  and  bore 
with  great  patience  the  indiscretion  of  all  those 
who  asked  to  be  presented,  also  the  familiarity 
of  their  manners  and  language.  At  last,  at 
ten  o'clock,  he  went  home  delighted  to  have 
performed  the  task  for  which  he  had  crossed 
the  ocean  by  royal  and  paternal  command. 

I  shall  have  the  honor  to  see  the  Prince 
again  in  New  York,  where  he  returns  in  three 
or  four  weeks  to  rejoin  the  Belle-Poule. 


XCIX. 

PHILADELPHIA,  October  12,  1841. 
I  AM  here  on  my  way  to  New  York.  I  have 
made  a  great  many  visits  to-day.  The  city 
is  in  a  state  of  excitement  on  account  of  the 
elections  which  are  going  on  now.  They  are 
in  favor  of  the  Democratic  Party,  which  is  Mr. 
Van  Buren's  party,  beaten  last  year. 

I  have  been  again  to  the  house  M.  de  Talley- 
>    rand  lived  in  while  in   Philadelphia  ;  it   is  on 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      257 

North  Third  Street,  facing  the  City  Hotel. 
Fifty  years  ago  it  was  the  fashionable  quarter, 
and  now  it  is  all  shops.  The  ground-floor  was 
occupied  by  a  baker  named  Brescht,  who  is 
still  alive,  but  does  not  live  there  now.  I  can 
not  look  at  this  house  without  emotion. 

I  am  writing  to  you  with  an  accompaniment 
of  inhuman  cries  and  ferocious  yells  of  the 
mob,  who  show  their  interest  in  the  election  in 
this  way. 


C. 

NEW  YORK,  October  17,  1841. 

M.  DE  LA  FOREST  took  me  to  see  two  ladies 
who    had   very   kindly   expressed    a   wish    to 

make  my  acquaintance — Mrs.  B and  Mrs. 

M .      The    first   is   a  daughter  of  General 

Reubel,  who  came  to  this  country  and  was 
married  at  the  same  time  as  Jerome  Bona 
parte.  Mrs.  B—  -  is  a  rich  widow,  agreeable, 
and  very  pretty.  She  is  bored  here,  and 
wishes  to  return  to  France,  where  she  had 

amused  herself  very  much.     Mrs.  M is  the 

wife  of  a  doctor.      She  has  also  lived  a  long 


258      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

time  in  France,  where  her  husband  went  for 
his  health,  and  they  were  both  presented  at 
Court  by  General  Cape.  The  Prince  of  Join- 
ville,  who  had  seen  them  there,  spent  two  even 
ings  with  Mrs.  M very  agreeably.  This 

created  quite  a  sensation  in  the  city,  and  will 

make  the  family  very  fashionable.  Mrs.  M 

proposes  to  give  a  ball  to  the  Prince  on  his 
return. 

I  went  with  the  Baron  de  Marschall  yester 
day  to  see  the  packet-ship  on  which  he  embarks 
to-morrow  for  Europe.  Happy  mortal! 

I  also  went  to  see  Captain  Charner,  who  is 
in  command  of  the  Belle-Poule  in  the  absence 
of  the  Prince.  I  visited  the  ship  throughout, 
and  admired  it  very  much.  There  appeared 
to  me  to  be  a  falling-off  in  one  thing — that  is, 
in  the  discipline  of  the  ship.  I  think  the 
Prince  allows  too  much  liberty  to  his  officers, 
probably  fearing  to  appear  more  exacting  than 
an  ordinary  commander.  Their  discipline  suf 
fers  from  it. 

I  dined  yesterday  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mor 
timer  Livingston.  Their  house  is  charming: 
it  is  the  only  one  I  have  seen  in  the  United 
States  that  is  in  really  good  taste  and  elegant. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      259 

They  have  eighty  thousand  francs  a  year,  and 
belong  to  one  of  the  highest  families  in  Amer 
ica.  Mr.  Livingston  is  as  well-bred  and  pol 
ished  as  if  he  were  not  an  American.  His  wife 
is  not  pretty,  but  she  tries  to  please,  and  suc 
ceeds.  They  have  travelled,  and  know  how 

to  converse.     Mrs.  B ,  an  intimate   friend 

of  Mrs.  Livingston,  was  the  only  woman  at 
this  dinner.  These  ladies  retired  at  dessert, 
and  we  joined  them  an  hour  afterward  in  the 
drawing-room. 

I  have  just  finished  Messieurs  de  Tocque- 
ville  and  de  Beaumont's  work  on  the  Peniten 
tiary  System  in  the  United  States — a  book 
which  has  had  great  success  in  Europe,  and 
obtained  the  "  Monthyon  Prize."  I  think  of 
this  book  as  I  do  of  M.  de  Tocqueville's  ''De 
mocracy"  and  the  writings  of  Michel  Cheva 
lier — that  they  are  interesting,  but  not  accu 
rate.  Everything  is  arranged  by  the  authors 
to  please  a  certain  class  of  European  readers. 
These  gentlemen  commit  a  thousand  errors  in 
their  assertions,  and  pronounce  opinions  about 
things  they  have  never  seen,  or  seen  with  a 
fixed  intention  to  make  them  serve  to  injure 
our  institutions,  our  French  administration, 


260      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

and   to    make    for   themselves  a  cheap  popu 
larity. 


NEW  YORK,  October  22,  1841. 

MR.  COPPINGER,  a  rich  merchant  of  New 
York,  and  Frenchman  by  birth,  came  to  see 
me  this  morning,  with  an  album  belonging  to 
a  young  miss  under  his  arm.  He  brought  it 
with  a  request  from  her  —  although  I  had  never 
seen  her  —  to  put  my  name  at  the  bottom  of 
a  list  of  American  autographs.  I  refused,  as 
politely  as  I  could,  to  make  myself  ridiculous 
by  figuring  there.  In  looking  over  the  album 
I  saw  a  curious  inscription.  You  know  that 
after  the  affair  at  Strasbourg,  Louis-Bonaparte 
went  to  Brazil,  then  to  New  York,  from  which 
place  he  returned  to  Europe.  While  he  was 
here  the  lady  of  the  album  begged  him  to  put 
his  name  in  it.  He  thought  fit  to  write  a 
famous  verse  with  his  signature,  which  accord 
ing  to  him  depicted  his  position,  and  here  is 
the  quotation  as  written  in  the  album  : 

"  Le  premier  qui  fut  roi,  fut  un  soldat  heureux  ; 
Qui  sert  bien  son  pays  n'a  pas  besoin  d'aieux  !  —  (RACINE.) 

"  LOUIS-NAPOLEON  BONAPARTE. 
"  NEW  YORK,  June  10,  1837." 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      26 1 

What  do  you  think  of  a  French  Prince  who 
gives  to  Racine  what  belongs  to  Voltaire? 

The  name  of  the  owner  of  the  album  is 
Miss  Ward,  daughter  of  a  General  of  militia, 
and  member  of  Congress.  I  know  neither 
father  nor  daughter. 

The  French  who  are  living  here  annoy  me 
very  much.  My  predecessor,  M.  Pontois,  lived 
on  very  familiar  terms  with  them,  and  they  are 
astonished  that  I  do  not  follow  his  example. 
Some  of  them  expect  me  to  pay  the  first  visit, 
and  invite  me  to  their  dinners  and  their  parties 
without  even  leaving  a  card  at  my  door.  They 
are,  taking  them  altogether,  not  very  com 
mendable.  Misfortunes  in  business  have 
brought  most  of  them  to  the  United  States, 
where  they  seek  and  find  fortunes.  There 
fore  I  have  no  desire  to  see  more  of  them  than 
is  strictly  necessary,  and  I  have  announced 
that  I  will  return  visits  which  are  made  to  me, 
but  that  I  will  not  pay  a  first  visit  to  any 
one,  and  that  I  will  accept  invitations  only 
from  those  who  have  sought  to  make  my  ac 
quaintance. 


262      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMA  T. 


CII. 

NEW  YORK,  November  i,  1841. 

I  HAVE  been  to  see  Mrs.  M—  -  again.  She 
is  an  amiable  woman,  large,  and  very  much 
like  an  English  housekeeper.  Her  daughter, 
Miss  Louisa,  is  not  as  pretty  as  Monseigneur 
the  Prince  of  Joinville  represented  her  to  be. 
Mrs.  M—  -  showed  me  the  preparations  for 
the  ball  she  offered  to  the  Prince  on  his  return, 
and  which  he  has  accepted. 

An  unfortunate  event  has  taken  place  here. 
The  Catholic  Bishop  of  New  York  is  old,  in 
firm,  and  childish ;  they  have  given  him  a 
coadjutor,  Mr.  Hughes,  made  on  this  account 
Bishop  in  partibus  of  Barianopolis.  Mr. 
Hughes,  who  is  an  Irishman  by  birth,  is  very 
hot-headed  and  full  of  imprudent  zeal,  which 
has  caused  him  to  commit  a  fault  very  injuri 
ous  to  the  interests  of  Catholicism  in  this 
country.  Every  year  the  Legislature  of  New 
York  votes  the  funds  to  be  distributed 
amongst  the  primary  schools,  all  directed  by 
Protestants.  The  Catholics  have  protested 
against  this  exclusive  measure,  and  demanded 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      263 

part  of  these  funds  for  schools  founded  by 
them.  This  protest  has  been  taken  into  con 
sideration  and  sustained  by  many  influential 
persons,  who  recognize  that  as  the  Catholics 
pay  their  share  of  the  taxes  by  the  aid  of 
which  the  schools  are  kept  up,  it  is  only  just 
that  they  should  have  their  share  in  the  dis 
tribution.  Bishop  Hughes  has  insisted  in  the 
religious  assemblies  that  justice  should  be 
done.  If  he  had  kept  to  this,  nothing  could 
have  been  better,  and  he  would  before  long 
have  obtained  what  he  asked  ;  but  this  is  what 
he  took  into  his  head  to  do  :  the  general  elec 
tion  for  one  third  of  the  Legislature  being 
near  at  hand,  he  called  a  meeting  more  political 
than  religious,  where  he  gave  an  incendiary 
discourse,  in  which,  not  confining  himself  to 
generalities,  he  designated  twelve  candidates 
favorable  to  the  distribution  of  funds  to  the 
Catholics.  He  so  inflamed  his  audience,  most 
of  them  poor  Irish  workmen,  that  in  their  ex 
citement  they  behaved  in  a  manner  very  much 
to  be  regretted.  The  next  day  the  newspapers 
threw  fire  and  flames  against  the  Bishop,  whom 
they  accused  of  stirring  up  civil  war.  The 
twelve  candidates  designated  by  this  violent 


264      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

prelate  protested,  and  if  they  are  elected,  it  is 
probable  they  will  vote  against  the  Catholics  ; 
besides,  these  senseless  agitations  of  the  clergy 
do  a  great  deal  of  harm. 


CHI. 

NEW  YORK,  November  3,  1841. 

WE  had  news  of  our  young  Prince  yesterday, 
who,  as  I  foresaw,  has  been  delayed  in  his 
journey.  The  weather  has  been  terrible: 
snow,  excessive  cold,  and  not  sufficient  water 
in  the  lakes  to  permit  the  steamboats  to  make 
their  regular  trips.  Happily  their  gay  party 
are  well.  M.  Montholon  writes  me  from  Saint. 
Louis  that  they  hope  to  be  in  New  York  about 
the  22d  or  23d. 

Doctor  Guillard,  physician  of  the  Belle- 
Poule,  accompanied  the  Prince  on  his  voyage 
to  Saint  Helena.  General  Bertrand,  as  you 
know,  was  there  at  the  same  time.  Talking 
one  day  over  their  reminiscences  of  the  Em 
pire,  the  General  said  to  the  doctor,  who  he 
found  shared  the  common  prejudice  against 
M.  de  Talleyrand  and  believed  that  he  had  be- 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A  DIPLOMA  T.      26$ 

trayed  the  Emperor,  that  this  report  was 
entirely  false,  and  that  the  Emperor  had  been 
altogether  to  blame  in  all  their  reciprocal  rela 
tions.  As  M.  de  Talleyrand  was  dead  and  the 
General  had  gone  to  Saint  Helena  to  bring  the 
remains  of  the  Emperor  home,  he  could  have 
nothing  to  gain,  and  his  testimony  must  have 
great  weight. 


CIV. 

NEW  YORK,  November  20,  1841. 
OUR  young  Prince  arrived  yesterday  in  good 
health,  content  with  his  journey  and  anxious 
to  get  away  again.  However,  he  has  resigned 
himself  to  accept  an  invitation  to  attend  a  ball 
at  Boston  ;  he  could  not  refuse  without  hurt 
ing  their  feelings.  He  will  go  to  Boston  day 
after  to-morrow,  return  Friday  morning  to  a 
dinner  given  to  him  by  the  French  people 
here  on  that  day,  and  in  the  evening  will  go 

to  Mrs.   M -'s  ball.     Saturday  he  will  dine 

with  the    municipality  of  New  York,  Sunday 
he  will  sail,  and  I  shall  return  to  Washington. 


266      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 


cv. 

NEW  YORK,  November  22,  1841. 
THE  Prince  de  Joinville  attended  Mass  yes 
terday,  after  which  he  had  the  goodness  to 
come  to  see  me.  He  conversed  for  an  hour  on 
different  subjects  with  great  ability;  nothing 
escapes  him,  and  he  never  forgets  anything ; 
at  his  age,  and  with  his  simple  manners  and 
gay  disposition,  he  has  already  a  personal 
value  which  predicts  a  brilliant  future. 


CVI. 

NEW  YORK,  November  24,  1841. 
I  WENT  on  board  the  Belle-Poule  yesterday 
about  noon  to  pay  my  respects  to  the  Prince. 
He  kept  me  to  assist  him  to  receive  Mrs.  Liv 
ingston  and  Mrs.  De  Pau,  who  had  come  to 
pay  a  visit  to  his  Royal  Highness  and  see  the 
vessel.  I  afterward  accompanied  the  Prince  to 
the  steamboat  which  was  to  take  him,  twelve 
of  his  officers,  and  M.  de  Montholon  to  Bos 
ton  ;  they  will  all  return  here  the  day  after  to 
morrow. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMA  r.      267 


CVII. 

NEW  YORK,  November  26,  1841. 

MY  young  Prince  has  just  arrived  from  Bos 
ton  ;  he  is  delighted,  and  from  what  M.  de 
Montholon  tells  me,  everything  must  have 
passed  off  very  well.  I  am  the  more  pleased 
because  I  had  particularly  urged  that  this  invi 
tation  should  be  accepted ;  the  Prince  was 
very  much  opposed  to  it,  wishing  to  avoid  this 
obligation. 

This  is  our  great  day — the  French  dinner  at 
five  o'clock,  and  at  nine  Mrs.  M 's  ball. 


CVIII. 

NEW  YORK,  November  27,  1841. 
THE  entertainment  given  by  the  French 
took  place  in  the  hall  of  a  grand  hotel  called 
the  Astor  House.  It  was  decorated  with  tri- 
colored  flags,  and  the  band  from  the  Belle- 
Poule,  which  is  excellent,  played  wonderfully 
well,  although  a  little  too  loud.  The  toasts 
were  generally  stupid  enough,  and  the  man 
ners  of  the  company  pretty  bad.  The  Prince 


268      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

had  on  his  left  the  president  of  the  banquet, 
M.  Chegaray,  an  infirm  old  man,  who  proposed 
the  toasts,  and  on  his  right  the  Mayor  of  New 
York ;  I  sat  next  to  him  ;  on  the  other  side  an 
Alderman.  It  was  in  this  position  I  had  to 
pass  three  hours.  The  Prince  left  at  half-past 
eight,  and  came  home  with  me  before  going  to 
the  ball.  The  street  I  lived  in  being  unpaved, 
we  were  obliged  to  get  in  and  out  of  our  car 
riages  in  a  pouring  rain,  and  on  sidewalks  wet 
and  muddy. 

Mrs.  M 's  house  was  very  well  arranged 

and  filled  with  \\\Q  fashion  of  New  York.  This 
entertainment  was  a  great  event,  and  caused 
much  gossip  and  many  jokes.  Poor  Mrs. 

M will  make  many  enemies  and  be  much 

laughed  at ;  they  say  she  will  be  obliged  to 
leave  New  York !  This  is  her  reward  for  hav 
ing  taken  so  much  trouble.  After  examining 
the  rooms  and  those  who  filled  them,  I  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  although  better  than  in 
Washington,  there  was  much  to  find  fault  with 
in  the  exaggerated  dress  of  the  women  and 
the  vulgar  manners  of  the  men.  I  went  home 
at  eleven  o'clock,  the  Prince  having  kindly  ad 
vised  me  to  take  some  rest. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      269 

CIX. 

NEW  YORK,  November  28,  1841. 
I  ATTENDED  his  Royal  Highness  to  the  Cor 
poration  dinner.  We  arrived  at  six  o'clock ; 
they  did  not  sit  down  to  table  until  seven,  and 
the  dinner,  which  was  a  very  bad  one,  ended 
at  ten.  The  room  was  infected  by  gas  and 
tobacco-smoke.  The  toasts,  which  were  given 
by  the  Mayor,  commenced  at  dessert,  and 
were  most  flattering  to  the  Prince  and  to 
France.  The  Mayor  was  seated  on  the  right 
of  his  Royal  Highness,  and  I  on  the  left. 
Lord  Morpeth,  who  happened  to  be  in  New 
York  and  was  invited,  was  next  to  the  Mayor. 
After  all  the  official  toasts  were  given — not  very 
complimentary  to  England  on  account  of  the 
events  they  recalled — the  health  of  Lord  Mor 
peth  was  proposed.  In  returning  thanks  he 
took  occasion  to  retaliate  by  some  sharp  and 
witty  allusions  to  those  toasts  which  had  been 
disagreeable  to  him  as  an  Englishman.  His 
speech  was  a  great  success ;  but  the  true,  the 
great,  and  sincere  success  rests  with  our  Prince, 
who  during  his  stay  here  has  shown  admira 
ble  tact,  good  taste,  and  cleverness. 


2/0      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

After  dinner  we  went  to  an  impromptu 
dance,  given  by  Mrs.  Livingston,  who  had  pro 
posed  it  to  the  Prince  at  Mrs.  M 's  last 

night.  He  danced  and  chatted  with  Miss 

M until  two  o'clock,  when  we  escorted 

him  to  the  wharf,  and  bade  him  farewell,  as  he 
was  to  sail  at  five  o'clock  this  morning. 

He  said  all  sorts  of  kind  things  to  me,  and 
ordered  me  to  visit  him  in  Paris,  where  he 
hoped  we  should  soon  meet.  He  sent  by  M. 
de  Montholon  a  very  handsome  bracelet  to  his 
wife,  and  left  presents  for  three  or  four  per 
sons  and  alms  for  the  poor. 


CX. 

PHILADELPHIA,  November  30,  1841. 
I  AM  fated  to  meet  Fanny  Elssler  at  Phila 
delphia  ;  this  is  the  fourth  time.  We  live  in 
the  same  hotel,  and  I  have  just  been  to  see 
her.  She  says  she  is  here  on  business,  but 
that  Mr.  WickofI — her  friend  she  calls  him,  her 
lover  some  say,  others  again  say  he  is  her  hus 
band — has  fallen  ill,  and  she  is  waiting  until  he 
gets  well  to  finish  her  engagement  in  New 
York. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      2*J\ 

She  will  not  return  to  Europe  this  year ;  she 
expects  her  sister  The'rese,  with  whom  she  will 
spend  the  winter  in  Havana  and  New  Orleans. 
She  wants  to  go  afterward  to  England  and 
Germany,  for  she  does  not  dare  to  enter 
France,  where  she  has  been  condemned  to  pay 
sixty  thousand  francs  to  the  Paris  Opera. 
This  is  all  this  amiable  girl  had  to  tell.  I 
found  her  changed,  and  pale.  She  had  a 
severe  illness  in  Boston. 


CXI. 

WASHINGTON,  December  3,  1841. 
HERE  I  am  again  in  my  prison,  which  seems 
to  me  more  gloomy  and  horrible  than  ever.  I 
am  perishing  with  cold,  in  spite  of  the  Frank 
lin  stoves  and  the  Buffalo  skins  that  I  have 
nailed  on  the  walls.  I  have  not  been  consoled 
by  a  visit  I  made  to  Mr.  Webster,  who  is  just 
as  pompous  in  his  manners  and  English  at 
heart  as  ever.  I  have  also  been  to  see  the 
President,  to  thank  him  again,  on  the  part  of 
the  Prince,  for  his  kindness  ;  but  conversation 
with  this  good  man,  who  is  not  very  brilliant, 


2/2      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

h  dull  and  fatiguing.  His  daughter,  Miss 
Tyler,  is  more  pretentious  and  ridiculous  than 
ever  since  her  head  has  been  turned  by  dreams 
of  grandeur. 


CXII. 

WASHINGTON,  December  22,  1841. 
EVERYBODY  in  Washington  is  very  much 
concerned  about  a  robbery  of  the  Patent 
Office,  which  is  about  one  hundred  yards  from 
my  house.  All  the  curiosities  belonging  to 
the  Government  are  deposited  in  one  of  the 
rooms  of  this  establishment,  among  others  the 
snuff-boxes  and  other  presents  made  to  diplo 
matic  agents  of  the  United  States,  which  they 
are  forbidden  by  law  to  accept  for  themselves. 
The  robbers  got  into  this  room  in  full  light  of 
day,  and  carried  off  everything  ;  they  have  not 
been  caught,  and  probably  never  will  be,  owing 
to  the  singular  organization  of  the  police,  or 
rather  the  total  absence  of  any  guarantee  of 
public  or  private  property. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      2/3 


CXIII. 

WASHINGTON,  January  13,  1842. 
I  WENT  to  Congress  to-day  expecting  to 
hear  a  speech  from  Mr.  Clay,  which  has  been 
much  talked  of,  but  it  appears  has  been  put  off 
indefinitely.  This  is  the  great  Mr.  Clay  who 
caused  the  election  of  poor  General  Harrison 
to  the  Presidency  eighteen  months  ago,  after 
exacting  from  him  the  assurance  that  he  would 
not  be  a  candidate  again  at  the  end  of  his  four 
years'  term,  hoping  to  succeed  him  ;  but  Mr. 
Tyler  having  succeeded  after  only  a  month's 
occupancy  by  the  poor  General,  and  having 
also  boldly  vetoed  a  law  proposed  by  Mr.  Clay, 
and  by  which  he  (Clay)  hoped  to  increase  his 
popularity,  has  made  for  himself  a  declared 
enemy.  Thus  the  great  Clay  thinks  only  of 
revenging  himself  on  the  present  President : 
he  intends  proposing  to  Congress  to  alter  the 
Constitution  so  that  the  power  of  the  Presi 
dent  may  be  more  restricted,  and  the  length 
of  his  term  of  office  diminished  ;  that  his  veto 
shall  be  suspensive,  and  not  definite ;  that  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  shall  be  elected  by 


2/4     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMA  T. 

Congress,  which  would  make  him  independent 
of  the  President.  All  these  revolutionary 
propositions,  tending  to  weaken  the  power  of 
the  President,  are  dictated  by  a  desire  for  re 
venge  :  if  they  were  adopted  they  would 
destroy  the  harmony  and  the  balance  of 
power  which,  in  the  opinion  of  the  authors  of 
the  Constitution,  ought  to  guarantee  the  main 
tenance  and  the  tranquillity  of  the  country. 
Behold  the  patriotism  and  civil  virtue  of  the 
vival  American  citizens! — they  think  of  procur 
ing  for  themselves  authority,  power,  and  office, 
just  as  the  great  men  in  our  constitutional 
monarchies  seek  to  obtain  all  -that ;  but  the 
one  takes  it  and  the  other  asks  for  it — that  is 
all  the  difference. 

As  to  the  result  of  Democratic  institutions 
on  the  finance  of  the  country,  here  is  an  in 
stance  :  eight  years  ago  the  United  States 
paid  every  cent  of  their  National  debt,  and 
the  fact  was  proclaimed  throughout  Europe  as 
being  wonderful,  and  as  a  substantial  proof  of 
the  merit  of  their  form  of  government ;  now, 
eight  years  after,  the  United  States  have  con 
tracted  a  new  debt  of  twelve  hundred  mil 
lion  francs.  Five  of  the  States  declare  they 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A  DIPLOMAT. 

will  not  pay  this  debt.  The  Bank  of  Phila 
delphia  has  failed  to  the  amount  of  fifty  mil 
lion  francs,  and  five  hundred  banks  in  other 
parts  of  the  country  arc  insolvent.  All  the 
public  works,  so  much  talked  about,  have  been 
built  with  money  borrowed  from  Europe, 
which  they  refuse  to  repay ;  the  result  is  that 
most  of  these  enterprises  which  have  been 
undertaken  remain  unfinished.  As  to  the 
Federal  Government,  whose  seat  is  in  Wash 
ington,  there  is  a  deficit  of  seventy  thousand 
francs  for  the  year  1842.  They  find  it  impos 
sible  to  borrow  at  six  per  cent,  and  are  obliged 
to  give  seven  and  eight.  During  these  eight 
years  in  which  these  disasters  have  occurred 
there  has  been  no  extraordinary  expenditure  ; 
the  army  is  only  ten  thousand  men  for  a  popu 
lation  of  seventeen  millions;  the  navy  is  so 
small  that  it  cannot  compete  with  any  in 
Europe ;  the  only  extra  expense  has  been  a 
war  in  Florida  against  eight  hundred  Scminolc 
Indians,  whom  they  have  not  been  able  to 
subdue  after  eight  years'  struggle,  and  this  war 
has  cost  one  hundred  and  fifty  million  francs, 
owing  to  the  shameful  extravagance  of  those 
who  have  been  employed  to  manage  it.  Now 


2/6     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

this  is  the  situation  of  this  great  and  beautiful 
country,  which  the  revolutionists  and  imbeciles 
in  France  have  so  vaunted  for  their  economical 
institutions  and  fraternal  feelings.  This  finan 
cial  result  and  the  general  condition,  which 
offers  no  security,  proves  conclusively  that 
democracy  is  incapable  of  governing. 

I  went  yesterday  at  five  o'clock  to  dine  with 
the  President :  forty  men  ;  no  women — they 
did  not  appear  till  after  dinner.  I  was  placed 
between  Mr.  Spencer  and  Mr.  Webster;  the 
latter  forgot  his  contraband  dignity  with 
which  he  usually  conceals  his  sad  mediocrity. 
The  Madeira  wine,  of  which  he  drank  entirely 
too  much,  made  him  not  only  amiable,  I  mean 
in  the  American  sense,  but  most  tenderly 
affectionate ;  he  took  my  arms  with  both 
hands,  and  said,  "  My  dear  Bacourt,  I  am  so 
glad  to  see  you  to-night — more  so  than  I  have 
felt  at  any  other  time  :  I  do  not  know  why  ! 
Perhaps  I  have  not  been  as  friendly  with  you 
as  I  ought  to  have  been,  but  if  you  are  willing 
we  will  become  bosom  friends.  You  will  find 
me  a  good  companion  ;  come  and  see  me  every 
day  without  ceremony ;  it  will  give  me  great 
pleasure,  my  dear  Bacourt,  for,  really,  I  think 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      2J7 

you  are  charming."  This  flattering  declara 
tion  was  made  with  a  drunken  stammer,  and 
— shall  I  dare  to  say  it — with  hiccups,  which 
made  it  very  disagreeable  to  be  near  this  Min 
ister  of  Foreign  Affairs.  And  this  occurred 
at  the  table  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  at  a  dinner  given  to  the  representa 
tives  of  all  the  European  powers  ! 


CXIV. 

WASHINGTON,  January  25,  1842. 
I  HAVE  heard  Mr.  Clay's  famous  speech, 
which  has  been  talked  of  as  the  great  event 
for  the  last  three  weeks ;  but  it  was  not  a  sue 
cess — a  complete  failure  !  Lord  Morpeth  was1 
there,  and  had  an  opportunity  of  judging  of 
the  eloquence  of  the  great  American  orators, 
and  of  the  anarchy  which  rules  in  this  para 
dise  called  a  republic !  The  scenes  in  Con 
gress  are  every  day  more  disgusting.  After  a 
session  of  seven  weeks,  they  have  not  agreed 
upon  anything.  In  the  Hall  of  Representa 
tives  they  have  insulted  each  other  in  the 
grossest  manner,  and  outside  they  have  fought 


2/8      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

with  their  fists ;  it  is  an  unheard-of  and  revolt 
ing  spectacle. 


cxv. 

WASHINGTON,  February  3,  1842. 
OLD  Mr.  Adams  raised  a  tremendous  storm 
in  Congress  yesterday.  This  man,  seventy-two 
years  old,  was  President  of  the  United  States 
for  four  years,  but  not  being  elected  for  a 
second  term,  has  been  at  enmity  with  the 
whole  world  ever  since.  After  having  occu 
pied  the  highest  position,  he  sought  the  sec 
ondary  honor  of  representing  his  own  State  in 
Congress,  and  in  that  position  has  for  several 
years  agitated  the  whole  country  with  the  ter 
rible  question  of  abolition  of  slavery,  which 
infuriates  the  representatives  of  the  South, 
where  slavery  exists,  where  it  is  almost  inde 
structible  ;  and  in  any  event,  rumors  of  aboli 
tion  can  only  excite  the  slaves  against  their 
masters,  and  might  bring  about  a  civil  war. 
Notwithstanding  these  facts,  Mr.  Adams  un 
dertook,  ten  days  ago,  to  bring  before  the 
House  a  petition  which  had  been  sent  to  him 
by  some  inhabitants  of  a  little  town  in  Massa- 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

chusetts,  asking  the  dissolution  of  the  Union, 
urging  as  a  pretext  that  the  existence  of  sla 
very  in  the  South  will  be  the  cause  of  perma 
nent  hostility  between  the  North  and  the 
South.  This  is  the  first  time  that  the  great 
word  Dissolution  has  been  pronounced,  as  it 
were,  officially  in  Congress,  and  it  produced 
the  greatest  excitement.  It  was  proposed  to 
declare  the  petition  an  act  of  high  treason,  and 
that  Mr.  Adams  deserved  to  be  driven  from 
the  Hall  for  having  presented  it ;  but  that  in 
consideration  of  his  age,  and  the  position  he 
had  occupied  in  the  country,  the  House,  after 
having  passed  a  vote  of  censure  on  him,  left 
him  to  the  remorse  of  his  conscience.  During 
eight  sessions  they  have  discussed  these  pro 
positions  with  a  grossness  of  language  which 
no  one  could  conceive  who  had  not  been  pres 
ent  at  these  scandalous  scenes,  both  degrad 
ing  to  the  Government  and  the  Nation.  For 

O 

my  part,  I  am  delighted  at  all  this  mischief, 
which  injures  Mr.  Adams,  the  only  man  I  have 
politically  to  find  fault  with  in  this  country, 
and,  besides,  lowers  still  more  these  demo 
cratic  institutions  which  America  has  disgusted 
me  with. 


280      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

Lord  Morpeth  spends  his  whole  time  in 
Congress.  The  members,  so  proud  of  having 
an  English  Lord  amongst  them,  give  him  a 
seat  on  the  floor  of  the  House,  and  he  appears 
to  be  quite  at  home  ! 


CXVI. 

WASHINGTON,  February  4,  1842. 
I  MET  yesterday  a  Mr.  and  a  Mrs.  Bayard, 
who  have  the  impudence  to  call  themselves 
descendants  of  the  Chevalier  Bayard ;  they 
were  ignorant  no  doubt  of  the  fact  that  he 
had  the  good  sense  never  to  marry.  These 
ridiculous  Americans  have  adopted  arms  with 
the  device,  "  Sans  peur  et  sans  reproche !" 
Walking  with  M.  de  Montholon  this  morning, 
he  pointed  out  to  me  two  misses  of  sixteen  or 
seventeen  years  old  as  the  Misses  Bayard, 
who  were  arm-in-arm  with  two  young  men. 
Some  one  observed  to  the  mother  lately  that 
it  was  a  singular  liberty  to  allow  young  girls 
to  go  everywhere  alone  with  young  men,  and 
talk  in  corners  first  with  one  and  then  another. 
The  mother  said  that  she  did  not  think  it  was 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT.      28 1 

altogether  proper,  but  that  it  was  out  of  the 
power  of  parents  to  prevent  it  unless  young 
girls  were  kept  shut  up  and  deprived  entirely 
of  the  companionship  of  persons  of  their  own 
age,  and  that  if  this  was  done  they  would  re 
bel,  and  become  independent  and  unmanage 
able.  Eight  girls  out  of  nine  marry  against 
the  wishes  of  their  parents  here,  and  elope 
ments  are  frequent  from  Protestant  schools: 
so  much  so  that  the  Catholic  schools,  where 
the  management  is  so  much  better,  are  pre 
ferred  even  by  Protestant  parents. 


CXVIL 

WASHINGTON,  February  15,  1842. 
I  HAVE  been  to  see  Mrs.  Kennedy  and  Mrs. 
Winthrop.  Their  husbands  are  members  of 
the  House  of  Representatives,  and  on  the 
committee  having  charge  of  commercial  affairs, 
in  which  I  am  interested.  They  are  the  most 
distinguished  men  amongst  this  strange  Amer 
ican  people.  The  Kennedys  are  from  Balti 
more  and  the  Winthrops  from  Massachusetts, 


282      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

of  which  one   of  his  ancestors  was  Governor 
two  hundred  years  ago. 

They  say  that  these  gentlemen  are  very 
particular  about  visits  from  foreign  Ministers 
to  their  wives.  I  have  also  been  to  see  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  about  commercial 
affairs,  with  which  I  am  constantly  occupied. 
Congress  seems  at  last  disposed  to  discuss 
this  question.  I  have  taken  great  pains  about 
it ;  but  so  far  everything  has  been  against  me. 
The  great  need  of  money  by  the  United  States 
Government  has  forced  them  to  increase  the 
duties  on  all  foreign  productions.  However, 
I  am  satisfied  with  my  interview  with  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 


CXVIII. 

WASHINGTON,  February  17,  1842. 

WASHINGTON  IRVING  has  been  appointed 
Minister  to  Spain :  he  is  a  man  of  intelligence 
and  polished  manners. 

Charles  Dickens,  a  great  literary  celebrity,  is 
here  ;  he  is  very  popular  both  in  England  and 
in  the  United  States,  where  his  democratic 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      283 

writings  secure  him  a  brilliant  reception.  En 
tertainments  are  offered  to  him  in  every  town 
he  goes  through  ;  at  New  York  they  gave  him 
a  ball,  attended  by  five  thousand  persons, 
where  they  had  living  tableaux  of  the  princi 
pal  scenes  in  his  novels.  It  is  a  species  of 
madness  amongst  the  Americans,  who  always 
go  to  extremes  in  everything.  The  news 
papers  admit  that  he  is  made  more  of  than  La 
fayette,  Fanny  Elssler,  or  the  Prince  of  Join- 
ville :  this  is  the  order  the  newspaper  from 
which  I  quote  places  them  in. 

M.  Mathews,  the  Catholic  cure",  tells  me 
that  President  Tyler's  sister,  who  is  a  Catholic, 
lives  in  Washington  and  keeps  a  boarding- 
house,  that  is  to  say,  a  pension  bourgeois — a  very 
common  resource  here  for  poor  widows.  The 
President  has  so  much  respect  for  the  Catho 
lics  that  it  is  reported  he  will  join  their  reli 
gion.  I  do  not  believe  it. 

I  received  a  letter  from  our  Consul  in  Phila 
delphia  ;  it  describes  the  situation  in  Pennsyl 
vania  so  well  that  I  copy  it  for  you.  You 
must  know  that  scarcely  six  years  ago  Phila 
delphia  was  in  the  most  prosperous  condition. 

"  We  are  in   the  most  alarming  situation  : 


284     RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

confidence  is  entirely  destroyed  ;  our  Legisla 
tors,  who  are  ignorant  and  corrupt,  will  do 
nothing  to  extricate  their  unfortunate  constitu 
ents  from  the  abyss  of  misery  and  ignominy 
in  which  they  are  sunk ;  those  from  whom  we 
claim  what  is  due  to  us  laugh  in  our  faces,  say 
ing,  '  When  we  are  paid  by  those  who  owe  us 
we  will  pay  you.'  But  when  they  have  bank 
notes  which  they  are  anxious  to  get  rid  of, 
they  pay  you  in  advance,  and  if  an  hour  after 
having  received  these  notes  you  could  not 
pass,  you  take  them  back,  they  coolly  say, 
*  Well,  you  ought  not  to  have  taken  them ! ' 
Besides,  they  say  that  this  is  the  last  time  that 
Pennsylvania  will  pay  the  interest  on  her  debt. 
Most  of  these  State  bonds  are  owned  abroad, 
which  gives  greater  force  to  this  doctrine  of 
repudiation — a  doctrine  very  popular  here,  con 
sisting  of  not  paying  their  debts.  I  advise  my 
French  compatriots  to  send  to  France  all  they 
can  realize  at  any  sacrifice.  All  the  banks  are 
ruined ;  the  populace  want  to  reduce  every 
one  who  has  any  wealth  to  their  own  level. 
If  the  affairs  of  the  Union  are  not  better  man 
aged  than  those  of  the  States ;  if  ignorance, 
party  spirit,  cupidity,  and  egotism  should  pre- 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      28 J 

vent  Congress  adopting  suitable  *  measures ; 
and  if  the  bad  faith  of  the  people  of  this 
country  brings  on  a  foreign  war — what  will 
become  of  us?" 

This  is  the  picture  of  a  country  whose 
organization  has  been  lauded  to  the  sky ;  and, 
for  having  proclaimed  it  sublime  M.  de 
Tocqueville  has  been  made  member  of  all  the 
academies,  and  Michel  Chevalier  overwhelmed 
with  honors. 


CXIX. 

WASHINGTON,  April  i,  1842. 

THE  last  news  from  Europe  has  caused 
great  excitement  here :  the  declaration  of 
Lord  Aberdeen,  indorsed  by  seven  peers  who 
are  the  best  authorities  on  international  law, 
that  the  negroes  found  on  board  the  Creole 
ought  not  to  be  restored  to  the  United  States, 
is  considered  by  many  people  and  by  almost 
all  the  newspapers  as  equivalent  to  a  declara 
tion  of  war. 

The  debates  in  the  French  Chamber  of  Dep 
uties  on  the  right  of  search,  and  their  refusal 


286      RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

to  ratify  the  treaty  of  December  20,  signed  by 
the  five  great  Powers  to  which  our  Govern 
ment  has  been  obliged  to  submit,  has  also  pro 
duced  a  great  sensation.  These  new  events 
will  make  Lord  Ashburton's  mission  here 
much  more  difficult ;  he  is  expected  everyday. 

News  has  been  received  that  hostilities  have 
commenced  between  the  republics  of  Mexico 
and  Texas,  which  has  also  caused  great  ex 
citement  in  Washington.  This  last  is  a  regu 
lar  nest  of  bandits  from  everywhere,  but  par 
ticularly  from  the  United  States.  When  they 
speak  of  a  robber,  an  assassin  or  a  bankrupt, 
they  say  he  has  left  his  cards — G.  T.  T.  (gone 
to  Texas),  as  we  put  P.  P.  C.  Well,  this  hon 
orable  republic,  which  France,  thanks  to  the 
advice  of  my  predecessor,  M.  Pontois,  was  the 
first  to  acknowledge,  is  about  to  declare  war 
against  Mexico. 

I  have  been  to  hear  Mr.  Clay's  farewell  ad 
dress  to  the  Senate  ;  he  is  going  to  retire,  after 
thirty-six  years  of  service  in  it.  It  was  an  oc 
casion  on  which  to  make  a  great  speech,  but 
in  my  opinion  his  was  quite  a  failure :  he 
tried  to  be  touching,  and  pretended  to  cry  in 
the  most  ridiculous  manner.  It  was  the  silly 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      287 

talk  of  a  worn-out  old  man — nothing  more. 
His  partisans  also  thought  themselves  obliged 
to  weep,  while  his  opponents  laughed  in  the 
most  impudent  manner.  I  went  to  see  him 
next  day :  he  affected  to  be  in  a  very  happy 
and  contented  state  of  mind,  wanted  to  play 
at  the  rat  retiring  in  his  cheese,  but  very 
plainly  let  it  be  seen  that  he  had  not  re 
nounced  the  hope  of  being  elected  President 
in  three  years. 


cxx. 

WASHINGTON,  April  18,  1842. 

You  can  have  no  idea  of  the  trouble  the 
least  thing  here  gives  you ;  money  will  not 
always  procure  you  the  simplest  things :  for  a 
box  that  I  wanted  to  send  to  France,  I  was 
obliged  to  go  first  to  a  carpenter  to  order  the 
box,  then  to  a  sail-maker  for  linen  to  cover  it 
with,  from  there  to  another  man  to  tar  it,  and 
to  a  fourth  to  have  it  packed.  I  lost  my 
patience  and  my  temper  at  the  air  of  conde 
scension  of  these  men  to  their  customers.  If 


288      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

you  send  your  order  by  a  servant,  they  pay 
not  the  slightest  attention  to  it. 

I  was  delighted  to  meet  Lord  Ashburton 
again :  he  has  arrived  at  last,  after  a  long  and 
disagreeable  passage.  He  recalled  to  me  what 
M.  de  Talleyrand  had  said  in  speaking  of  the 
United  States  fifty  years  ago,  "  It  is  a  giant  in 
his  cradle."  He  could  say  now  that  the  giant 
had  passed  from  his  cradle  into  decrepitude. 

There  has  been  a  riot  in  New  York  on  the 
occasion  of  the  municipal  elections  ;  in  this  riot 
they  sacked  Bishop  Hughes's  house,  to  punish 
him  for  having  taken  such  an  active  part  in 
political  questions;  but  he  is  only  Coadjutor, 
and  the  Incumbent,  Mgr.  Dubois,  who  is 
eighty-three  years  old,  was  not  at  all  respected 
by  the  mob,  notwithstanding  his  great  age  and 
infirmities.  The  authorities  arrived  two  hours 
after  the  pillage. 

A  frightful  accident  too'  /lace  at  Baltimore 
the  day  before  yesterday.  On  a  trial-trip  of  a 
new  steamboat  with  one  hundred  passengers 
the  boiler  burst,  and  more  than  three  fourths 
were  killed  or  mutilated !  So  much  for  the 
American  prudence. 

The   tariff    question    is   going  very   badly: 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT.      289 

the  want  of  money  in  the  treasury  is  so  great, 
that  they  will  put  higher  duties  than  last  year 
on  foreign  merchandise ;  French  silks  and 
wines  suffer  very  much ;  but  if  things  go  as 
they  say  they  will,  the  products  of  France  will 
be  treated  better  than  any  others.  But  it  is 
fated  that  I  shall  meet  with  nothing  but  mis 
fortunes  in  this  country.  The  last  post  from 
New  York  has  brought  me  more  disagreeable 
news :  the  French  who  are  engaged  in  busi 
ness  in  New  York  are  generally  abominable 
rogues  who  have  run  away  from  France  and 
live  here  by  fraud.  They  have  conspired 
against  me  on  account  of  a  letter  I  wrote 
lately  to  one  of  the  worst  of  them,  and  have 
held  a  meeting  for  the  purpose  of  formulating 
a  complaint  against  me,  which  they  intend  to 
send  to  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  accusing  me 
of  refusing  them  aid  and  protection.  And  yet 
everybody  says  that  not  one  of  my  prede 
cessors  ever  took  more  trouble  than  I  have 
done  about  the  private  interests  of  the  French 
in  the  United  States.  I  shall  be  obliged  to 
disclose  their  baseness  to  my  Government.  I 
have  fallen  here  into  a  veritable  hedge  of 
thorns. 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 


CXXI. 

WASHINGTON,  June  g,  1842. 

IN  three  days  eleven  fires  in  Washington! 
As  most  of  the  houses  were  isolated  and  un 
inhabited,  and  no  fires  have  been  made  in 
them  during  the  winter,  this  must  have  been 
the  work  of  incendiaries. 

The  President  of  the  Committee  on  Ways 
and  Means  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
of  whom  I  had  asked  a  few  moments'  inter 
view,  much  to  my  surprise  appointed  this 
meeting  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning.  I 
was  there  punctually,  but  to  my  greater  aston 
ishment  as  I  thought  I  should  find  him  alone, 
he  was  surrounded  by  nine  members  of  his 
committee,  not  one  of  whom  I  knew,  and  I 
was  obliged  to  discuss  with  these  nine  fellows 
the  most  delicate  questions  relating  to  my 
mission.  I  was  examined  and  cross-examined. 
I  am  ignorant  of  what  impression  I  made  upon 
these  individuals,  but  assuredly  they  did  not 
impress  me  as  gentlemen. 

We  have  had  such  cold  weather  that  we 
have  been  obliged  to  have  fires  everywhere, 
and  that  in  the  middle  of  June,  in  a  country 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A  DIPLOMA  T. 

situated  in  the  same  latitude  with  Naples  and 
Lisbon.  But  perhaps  this  excessive  cold  will 
keep  off  yellow-fever,  which  has  made  its' 
appearance  in  New  York.  M.  de  la  Fosse 
has  returned  from  Havana  and  Saint-Do 
mingo  ;  his  accounts  of  them  are  very  inter 
esting,  and  are  worth  the  trouble  I  have  to 
take  to  draw  them  out  of  him,  for  with  great 
intelligence,  he  is  very  reticent,  and  dislikes 
talking.  I  cannot  make  out  whether  it  is 
laziness  or  want  of  confidence  in  himself ;  if 
any  State  secrets  are  betrayed  nobody  should 
accuse  him.  At  the  same  time  he  has  the 
gift  of  observation,  and  has  related  things 
about  the  sentiments,  religious  practices,  and 
manners  and  customs  of  these  black  people 
which  pass  belief.  It  is  a  republic  of  mon 
keys,  nothing  more.  M.  de  la  Fosse  escaped 
by  a  miracle  from  the  last  earthquake,  which 
destroyed  fifteen  thousand  people  at  Saint- 
Domingo. 

I  saw  at  the  President's  house  the  portrait 
of  M.  Guizot,  by  Healy,  an  American  painter 
who  lived  in  Paris,  and  a  copy  of  a  portrait  of 
General  Washington  which  he  made  for  our 
King.  M.  Guizot  having  written  an  intro- 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

duction  to  the  works  of  General  Washington, 
which  works  he  had  translated,  the  Americans 
residing  in  Paris  wished  to  have  his  portrait. 
They  had  him  painted  by  Healy,  and  sent  it 
to  the  President  to  place  wherever  he  thought 
fit :  he  has  given  it  to  the  National  Institute 
of  Sciences.  Our  King  paid  Mr.  Healy  five 
thousand  francs  to  return  to  his  country  and 
copy  the  portrait  of  General  Washington  :  this 
was  independent  of  the  price  of  the  copy, 
which  he  had  not  much  trouble  in  making 
better  than  the  detestable  original.  Guizot's 
portrait  appears  to  me  to  be  very  good : 
unfortunately  he  is  standing,  which  shows  the 
small  stature  of  this  great  Minister,  deputy, 
and  orator. 

The  King's  generosity  to  Mr.  Healy  has 
had  a  good  effect  here.  The  newspapers  have 
been  very  liberal  with  the  flourish  on  this 
occasion. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      293 


CXXII. 

WASHINGTON,  June  30,  1842. 

I  WENT  to  see  the  President,  to  give  him  a 
letter  from  the  King ;  instead  of  receiving  me 
in  the  drawing-room  as  usual,  I  was  shown  up 
stairs  into  a  room  where  the  whole  Cabinet 
were  assembled.  This  reception  appeared  to 
me,  and  in  fact  was,  very  strange — even  in  a 
country  where  customs  are  so  singular.  I 
only  stayed  long  enough  to  hand  my  Sov 
ereign's  letter  to  Mr.  Tyler,  and  retired,  wish 
ing  the  President  and  his  council  a  happy  re 
sult  from  their  deliberations.  When  I  re 
turned  I  said  to  M.  de  la  Fosse  that  I  had  no 
doubt  that  something  very  serious  was  being 
prepared.  Two  hours  afterward  the  House 
of  Representatives  received  a  message  from 
the  President  announcing  that  he  had  put  his 
veto  on  the  Tariff  Bill  which  had  been  sub- 
mitted  to  him  two  days  before.  This  species 
of  coup  d'ttat  may  have  the  most  serious  con 
sequences.  It  makes  a  complete  split  between 
the  President  and  the  majority  in  Congress. 
Will  civil  war  break  out?  It  exists  in  the 
little  State  of  Rhode  Island  already :  the  two 


294      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT. 

armies  are  in  presence  of  each  other  there ; 
martial  law  has  been  proclaimed,  and  all  that 
under  the  walls  of  a  city  named  Providence — a 
name  so  suited  to  a  civil  war. 


CXXIII. 

WASHINGTON,  July  6,  1842. 

THE  anniversary  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence  of  the  United  States  was  celebrated 
on  the  Fourth  of  July  with  the  usual  noise 
and  excitement,  but  without  any  disasters. 
The  deplorable  political  and  financial  situation 
of  the  country  must  cause  many  to  reflect  on 
this  independence  which  they  have  exulted  in 
for  the  last  seventy  years  ;  and  I  am  convinced 
that  more  than  one  man  has  had  sense  enough 
to  curse,  if  not  the  independence  itself,  at  least 
the  institutions  which  have  been  the  conse 
quence  of  it. 

I  have  just  read  in  the  Journal  des  Ddbats 
the  great  debate  on  the  right  of  search,  in 
which  Marshal  Sebastiani  showed  so  plainly 
his  stupid  presumption.  He  tried  to  imitate 
M.  de  Talleyrand  in  signing  Protocols  without 
instructions.  This  debate  on  the  Treaties  of 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   DIPLOMAT.      295 

1831,  1833,  and  1834  have  recalled  circum 
stances  which  cause  me  once  more  to  admire 
the  great  intelligence  and  foresight  of  M.  de 
Talleyrand,  who  was  always  opposed  to  a 
reciprocal  right  of  search  between  France  and 
England.  This  was  so  well  known,  that  in 
1831  and  1833,  when  he  signed  so  many  trea 
ties  between  France  and  England,  those  trea 
ties  made  in  Paris  between  Lord  Granville 
and  General  Sebastiani  were  not  proposed  to 
him,  but  kept  concealed  from  him — General 
Sebastiani  wishing,  no  doubt,  to  show  that  it 
was  not  M.  de  Talleyrand — who  accomplished 
everything  at  London.  I  can  still  recall  the 
anger  and  rage  of  M.  de  Talleyrand  when  the 
Treaty  of  1831  was  communicated  to  him. 
His  sound  judgment  enabled  him  to  foresee 
the  bad  consequences  of  this  treaty. 

The  situation  here  is  getting  more  and  more 
complicated.  The  President's  veto  has  so  en 
raged  his  enemies  that  they  talk  of  impeach 
ing  him  ;  but  this  is  folly,  and  nothing  serious 
can  come  from  it. 

Our  silks  are  better  treated  than  I  expected  ; 
but  in  revenge  our  wines  are  threatened  with 
great  cruelty.  Notwithstanding  the  full  po\v- 


296      RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A    DIPLOMAT. 

ers  I  have  received  from  Paris,  I  cannot  leave 
here  until  the  treaty  with  Lord  Ashburton  has 
been  signed  and  the  vote  been  taken  on  the 
tariff. 

Two  more  American  boats  have  blown  up — 
one  on  the  Mississippi,  where  seventy-two 
persons  have  perished ;  the  other  on  one  of 
the  northern  lakes,  where  they  have  already 
found  forty-five  dead  bodies  ;  most  of  these 
victims  in  both  places  are  German  emigrants, 
who  are  flooding  this  country  just  now.  There 
were  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  emi 
grants  from  Europe  last  year,  and  probably 
will  be  fifty  thousand  more  this  year. 

They  must  be  very  unhappy  in  Europe ! 

I  have  just  received  a  letter  from  Monseig- 
neur  Chauch,  Bishop  of  Natchez.  He  asks 
me  to  beg  the  King  to  give  him  a  picture  and 
the  Queen  a  clock  for  the  cathedral  he  has 
built.  I  will  forward  his  request,  which  no 
doubt  will  be  received  as  usual  very  graciously. 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF  A    DIPLOMAT.       297 


CXXIV. 

WASHINGTON,  July  25,  1842. 

THE  treaty  between  Lord  Ashburton  and 
the  United  States  has  been  concluded,  which 
facilitates  my  departure.  I  hope  to  embark 
on  the  Great  Western  at  New  York  on  the 
nth  of  August.  I  leave  here  on  the  3Oth,  and 
will  breathe  the  purer  air  of  New  York  for  ten 
days  before  commencing  my  voyage.  I  shall 
thank  Heaven  when  I  feel  that  I  have  placed 
the  ocean  between  me  and  this  dreary  abode. 

I  have  made  a  long  round  of  visits  of  adieu  ; 
everywhere  they  say,  "  What !  you  are  going 
away?  When  do  you  return?  What !  you  do 
not  intend  to  return  !  It  is  too  bad  to  leave 
us,  and  without  taking  an  American  wife." 
This  last  remark  was  repeated  by  every  one  J 
saw :  it  gives  you  an  idea  of  American  taste. 


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